Lazarus
by The Cool Kat
Summary: The Wolf Boss has given up hope. Since his fall at Gongmen Bay he's tried to repent, but is now convinced he and his fugitive pack are a lost cause. But a chance encounter with the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five might change all that. Because if there's one thing Po the panda is good at, it's reviving hope in others.
1. Chapter 1: Rebirth

_**Introduction:**_

First off, this is not a slash fic. The last Wolf Boss fics I've written were all one-shots about Zhong/Po romance. This one isn't, so none of you guys have to be worried about being scarred for life by my crazy gay fantasies. Second off, do not skip this introduction. I know some of you sometimes skip over my boring ANs so you can get to the actual story and normally I don't mind that, but don'tskip _this _introduction. I know what you're thinking, why should I listen to the author ramble on about this fic was made when I can read the _actual_ fic? Well I swear to god these anecdotes are important this time. Alright then, let's do the usual introductions.

Hi everyone, I'm The Cool Kat. Everyone who has ever written fanfiction has a story that was their favorite one to write. This one is one of mine (along with "_**Metamorphosis**_", and near-future projects "_**What-A-Mess Goes To Manhattan**_" and "_**The Reporter, the Sailor, and the Gunfighter**_"). Because this story and I, we go way back.

It all started in December 2011. Most of you guys will remember that time as the month "_**Kung Fu Panda 2**_" was released on DVD in time for Christmas. I remember it as the time I was sitting on my butt, trying to work around a bad case of writer's block and failing miserably. During the fall months I had just written my first two fics "_**Salvation, Part 1**_" and "_**Salvation, Part 2**_" back-to-back and I was supposed to be writing Part 3 in time for the new year. Except, after writing that much material, my brain was spent. After a while I just gave up and let myself enjoy the holidays (I figured it wouldn't matter whether or not I wrote Part 3 in time anyway, since the Salvation trilogy had gotten little attention at the time).

I also remember being intrigued by "_**Kung Fu Panda 2**_", I had seen the original back in 2008, so I wondered what they were going to do for the sequel. I certainly hadn't been expecting what I found. Honestly, up until then I considered "_**Kung Fu Panda**_" to be an 'okay' movie with a good moral, but otherwise just another passing fad, but the sequel is what really converted me into a fan of the franchise. It was so much more darker and heartfelt than the original, and we really got to dig deep with Po's character. To put things simply, I loved it.

And I was especially fond of the secondary villain, the unnamed Wolf Boss, because I could tell that beneath his kidlike psychopathic persona, there were many layers to his character. Since I wasn't doing anything else at the time, I checked out the Wolf Boss fics that had already been written, and again was taken by surprise by what I found. They were magnificent. They took an overlooked secondary villain and turned him into a fan-favorite.

One of the more daring ones I found was a piece called "_**Erdan**_" by Wolflover111. It wasn't very long, and it hadn't got nearly as much attention as the others, but it stood out from all the other fics because it did something no other author had tried at the time, giving Wolf Boss a son to look after. I quickly became attached to the characters of Yu and Erdan, so when I reached the shock ending I was…gutted.

It's actually one of the simpler stories I've found on the site, and the plot is pretty straightforward, but there was so much heart tucked into those short little chapters and a strong sense of tragedy that woven into Wolf Boss' character (strong, but not overstated like I've seen in some cases) that I actually found myself crying when I realized it was the end.

For the rest of the night I thought about life, death, love, redemption, and sacrifice, more than I had ever thought about those things (that's how much this fic touched me), and I did it while listening to a favorite song of mine, "_**The Doctor's Theme**_". I realized the music fit the doomed character of Wolf Boss perfectly, and from that point on whenever I heard that song I always thought of him, which is why I assigned it to him as his theme later on.

Suddenly I realized I could write again, so I ran to my family's desktop (I wouldn't have my laptop for another year). Except I didn't write the plot for the next installment of "_**Heritage of the Wolf**_". Instead it was a completely different story, one about Po and his enemy Wolf Boss. One that was built around "_**The Doctor's Theme**_", and admittedly made me cry like a little girl the whole time I was writing it.

I called it "_**Lazarus**_", not because it featured any religion, but because it was all about life and death. I wanted to start writing it immediately, but there was a problem. I also wanted a sequel to "_**Erdan**_", because I felt Erdan and Yu really needed a continuation to their story. And I couldn't write both at the same time, so I decided to write Erdan's sequel first and get to "_**Lazarus**_" later.

Except "_**Erdan 2**_" went on for eight months (partly because of a crazy schedule and partly because I was lazy). And then I found myself promising one of my friends, Kodiwolf321, I'd write a collaboration fic with him (which I did). And then I finally got around to finishing the Salvation trilogy. But poor "_**Lazarus**_" kept getting put off and put off to a future date until the story was over a year old.

Of course, it's changed a lot since I first wrote it. Looking back on it, a year wiser, I realized the story could use a lot of tightening up to save space and keep the characters believable. I threw out a lot of unnecessary stuff, and reinforced the guys' backgrounds so you'd really feel for them as the story progressed. I wanted to make absolutely sure I did this right.

Because I have read a lot of fics on this site that are meant to be heartbreaking and emotional but fall just short because the author is either trying to hard or focusing too much on 'making it awesome' and not enough on making the tearjerkers realistic (I won't name any names, but if you've ever encountered any stories like this you know what I'm talking about). Like Wolflover111's "_**Erdan**_" proved, sometimes less really is more, and the less emphasis you put on something, the stronger the impact it will have.

What you're about to read is the finished product. I couldn't tighten this story any more without turning it into another Wolf Boss one-shot (albeit a really long one). And it's definitely a fic that makes more sense the second time you read it.

My main goal here is to make at least one of you guys feel a _little bit_ sad at some point in this story. If I manage to touch just one person it means I did the job right. If not, then it means you're either an emotionless robot or I'm nowhere near the average writer I think I am (the latter is probably more likely). Of course, I want your opinions to be 100% honest, so if you think I'm trying too hard or not enough, you let me know.

Another thing I'd like to point out is the inclusion of orchestra music in "_**Lazarus**_". That's nothing new for me; I've included music in my stories ever since my very first fanfic. Some of it is returning pieces from "_**Erdan 2**_" (most notably "_**The Doctor's Theme**_" and variations on it), but there's also plenty of 'new material' I can't wait for you to hear. Since this fic is written on a much bigger scale than I'm used to, there's also a lot more choir songs. For those of you who aren't into instrumental, you'll be glad to know there's some rock tunes thrown in as well, plucked from the "_**Twilight**_" soundtrack.

Well, that's about all I have to say. I can't tell you anymore without giving the whole story away, so thanks for being patient enough to listen to me drone about my story these first three pages. I'm looking forward to reading your reviews when I return to the site next Saturday. Oh, and could you please try to leave reviews for as many chapters as you can? I _really_ put a _lot_ of work into this one, and I'd like to know how well every chapter turned out. Thank you.

_**Chapter 1: Rebirth.**_

A long, long time ago, in a country called China, in a city called Gongmen, shots rang out. The blissful silence of the night was shattered by the sounds of dozens of wolves screaming, cannons firing, and a vengeful war lord yelling at his most loyal subject to commit an unthinkable act of cruelty – even more despicable than the lowest acts his commander had done for him.

What was usually a calm and peaceful wharf had unexpectedly been turned into a battlefield, as one side greatly outmatched the other – with skill rather than numbers. For on this dark, dark day, the final battle of Gongmen City was being fought, and the fate of the entire world relied on the success of the Dragon Warrior and his kung-fu friends.

Po, a giant panda, jumped from boat to boat, throwing wolf after wolf out of his way as he charged through the thong. Behind him, the Furious Five – Master Tigress, Master Mantis, Master Monkey, Master Viper, and Master Crane - covered his back, preventing anyone from ambushing the panda from behind. And behind them, Master Croc and Master Storming Rhino aided them in the fight, along with Po's mentor, the wise old Master Shifu.

As the A-team of kung fu held off the wolven guards, Po came closer and closer to his target - Shen, the psychotic warlord determined to set sail to the rest of China and level cities as a show of power. The evil mastermind had planned on conquering China by mass-producing a powerful new cannon, one that harnessed the explosive power of Chinese fireworks. But his overconfidence was now replaced by pure fear as he watched Po and his friends draw closer and closer to his post.

He knew his time of reckoning had come - just it had been predicted; he would die at the Dragon Warrior's hands. He had spent more than thirty years trying to prevent his fate, and had murdered countless innocent souls in his attempt. But as everything continued to fall apart around him, it seemed that all the bloodshed had been in vain.

Terrified, he turned to his second-in-command/former friend, Zhong Yu, the one-eyed commander of his armed force. "Why aren't we firing?!", he demanded.

Instead of replying, Zhong looked back out into the melee. "They're taking out our gunners sir! They're getting close!", he explained, as dozens of wolves continued to go down in a straight line. An entire legion of ruthless killing-machines, disabled so easily by just a group of nine.

Lord Shen, despite all his cocky boasting earlier, was completely lost when it came to his next move. If the Dragon Warrior and his friends could do all this, he didn't stand a chance against them.

He was going to die.

But then Po got close enough for Shen to see his face, and fear turned to fury when he saw the panda's determined expression. He couldn't let Po beat him now, not after everything he had done. He had thrown away his entire life to kill the Dragon Warrior, and he wasn't going to give up now. They still had one cannon left they could use. _His_.

He looked back at Zhong again. "Fire at them! Fire now!", he commanded.

Zhong, just as terrified, looked back into the crowd again and his blood ran cold when he realized, for the first time in thirty years, this was one order he wouldn't be able to follow. He _couldn't_ follow it. "But sir, we'll kill our own!", he argued, hoping (futilely) that his master would listen to reason.

Shen didn't reply, both he and Zhong had their eyes firmly locked on the oncoming threat. As Po, Shifu, and the Furious Five descended on them, dozens of Zhong's brothers were still attacking them, clinging to the masters' side like magnets. If they fired upon them now, they would murder the pack. Again, both the wolf and his leader saw the same scene unfolding before them, but only one of them cared about the consequences of their next move.

"FIRE!", Shen screamed, in a frenzy.

Po and his comrades were so close now, only a few yards away – they'd be on them in a matter of seconds. If they wanted to shoot them, they'd have to do it now.

Zhong looked down at the torch in his hands. He had an impossible choice to make; disobey a direct order from his general and closest friend, or slaughter his family.

The answer of course, was there was no choice _to_ make.

He turned back to his master and glared at him coldly. "No", he growled, teeth gritted.

Shen tilted his head to the side. If he was surprised, he certainly didn't look it. The peacock's expression was so crazed it seemed Zhong's insubordination had had no effect on him at all. Or so he thought.

"_**Vale Decem**_" by Murray Gold begins.

It all happened so fast; the boss wolf never even had time to react. But his crystal-clear night vision picked up every second of Shen's actions in almost slow motion.

The peacock reached into his sleeve, extracted a razor sharp dagger (the same one he had used to threaten the Dragon Warrior earlier) and flung it at him. He didn't even bother to make sure it hit its mark; the bird turned his head away as soon as the blade left his fingers. He had repaid Zhong for his disobedience in an act of swift vengeance, and now he had more important things to worry about.

The one-eyed canine stiffened as the tool of death made contact with his skin and dug into his flesh. The impact made him topple over backwards and fall to the floor of the boat. But he couldn't have cared less about that; he was in too much _agonizing_ pain.

At first, he didn't feel anything, except the shock to body as the blade cut him. But as soon as he hit the ground, the inevitable began. First he started to feel the opening in his skin (it was kind of like the sting one received when they got a paper cut, but much bigger). Then that tiny ember turned into a blaze. And then his skin felt white hot; his once warm blood now coursing through his veins like scolding hot water.

Zhong was familiar with the feeling. Sometimes during a raid he would sustain a few flesh wounds (some lucky punks would manage to get him with cut him with arrows or knives before he could make his escape), but he had never been hurt this badly before. The imaginary blaze spread out from his chest area, engulfing his entire body – including his heart and lungs. Every time the vital organ pulsed, it was like adding fuel to the fire. What's more, the blood his heart was pumping was just pouring out his open chest onto the floor. He just kept bleeding and bleeding; pretty soon he'd be drained dry.

Naturally, he wanted to scream, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't force his mouth open. His brain could only focus on the pain, not on making his vocal chords work.

As the seconds ticked by, it started getting hard to breathe, and a terrifying thought entered his head. What if the blade had pierced one of his lungs? That would mean certain, immediate death! All because of Shen.

He wished his could open his mouth. Then he'd be able to snap the neck of the man who betrayed him with his jaws. Speaking of Shen… The injured wolf forced himself to look to the right, and anger turned to fear again when he saw Shen light the canon's fuse. He was still going to fire into the crowd.

No longer content with just lying on the floor, Zhong strained to get up, but it was no use. Shen had obviously known just where to hit him. Between the pain and the loss of blood, he couldn't move even if he wanted to.

There was nothing he could do but watch.

Now only a few feet away from them and the canon, Po's eyes widened in terror as fire shot out of the barrel, aimed directly at him and his team. But before it could make contact, his friend Tigress pushed him out of the way, taking the brunt it along with her teammates.

And in that split second, Zhong blinked and all hell broke loose. The night sky lit up, turning fiery red. The air around them got as white hot as Zhong's blood, as the explosion expanded. In no time at all it had engulfed the entire fleet, vaporizing everyone and everything nearby.

Zhong's body was thrown high in the air, and when he started to come back down he quickly surveyed the flamey chaos around him. Po and the masters had been thrown backwards, the same as him; fire singeing their clothes and debris cutting into their skin. And only a few feet away from them, Zhong's pack weren't any better off. The wolves screamed as the fire swallowed them up, burning through their uniforms.

For the first time ever, Zhong understood what it must have been like being Po on the night they killed his family. This was what it felt like being helpless to save the ones you cared about, as they were taken away from you one by one. He had never felt a single shred of remorse for what they had did that night, until now.

The explosion only lasted for about a few seconds, before the fire subsided and the sound (which always followed the lightshow) ended with an ear-shattering bang. Zhong's was one of the first bodies to touch down, landing in the bay. After sinking downwards for a few harrowing moments, he spread out his weight evenly and let himself float back to surface.

The enemy force (the masters), though wounded, were clearly doing the same. But Zhong (to his dismay) couldn't see the bodies of his pack anywhere, though they should have been floating among the others'. There was only one explanation. There wasn't anything of them left to surface.

And it was all his fault.

All of it. He'd doomed them all.

If he hadn't trusted Shen all those years ago and put his total faith in him, then countless innocents would still be living, he and his pack would still be underappreciated but respectable royal guards, and China wouldn't be destroyed by a power-mad maniac. He had caused the destruction of not just himself, but the entire world. And the only honorable thing left for him to do was let death have him, and pray there would be some kind of afterlife waiting for him and his men.

As silence returned to the wharf again, Zhong deliberately let his body go limp, relaxing every muscle in his body. Though his chest had been burning only seconds before, he could feel the pain numbing now. In fact, every part of him was starting to go numb, like he had taken a powerful dose of sleeping pills.

Zhong, having a pretty good idea what was happening, tried to flex his fingers but found he could no longer feel them; like they weren't even a part of him anymore. What used to be his hand was replaced with the uncomfortable feeling of pins and needles, but soon even that faded away.

He suddenly felt light as a feather, like everything that had been holding him down to Earth before had been cut off. Like his mind was disconnected from his body; but to his surprise, even his thoughts started to become distant. They echoed in his head like a man shouting out in an empty cave.

It was taking all of Zhong's efforts just to keep _thinking_, and when his chest felt empty too the wolf finally realized he had stopped breathing. His heart was no longer pumping blood into his body, and his lungs weren't rising or falling anymore. His bloody body was now bloodless. The brain was the only vital organ still working, but without oxygen soon even that would fail.

Good.

Zhong closed his eyes (or eye). He knew it would pointless to try and fight death, not that he would have wanted to anyway. After years committing of unspeakable acts of violence and selfishness, he was finally going to find some peace. The one thing he had been denied of so long ago.

The last of Zhong's breaths escaped his dry purple lips, and floated into cold night air, turning into mist. With no life left in him, the gray wolf started sinking again, his empty lungs filling up with water. His heavy metal armor weighed him down, making him sink all the more faster.

It seemed this was to be his final resting place - the bottom of the bay.

But even as he sank further and further down into the abyss, the wolf boss' story wasn't over yet. It was only just beginning. There was still so much more to come.

**((()-()))**

"_**Turn Left**_" by Murray Gold begins.

Zhong opened his eyes.

Opened his eyes?

How could he open something that had ceased to exist, along with the rest of his body?

He had disappeared. He felt himself disappear. And yet here he was.

What happened to the darkness of night?

Yeah sure it was dark wherever he was, but not _as_ dark as it had been a few moments before. With his night vision he could slowly make out his surroundings and realized he was in a bedroom, lying on someone's bed. From the neck down he was even under a comforter; one that felt so soft and warm. He'd been an outcast for so long he'd almost forgotten what bed covers felt like.

How did he get here?

He was drowning. The last thing he remembered was that he had been drowning – he had _let_ himself drown. And now his fur was perfectly dry, and his lungs empty. His throat burned, though he supposed that was to be expected considering he drunk gallons of sea water. His body should have been dried out; completely dehydrated from in-taking all that salt.

The wolf finally had an idea of what must have happened. Someone found him, pumped the water out of him, took him wherever he was, and fed him food and water while he was out.

But how long had he been out? And who in their right minds would save _him_? He led an invasion force to conquer all of China, and someone decided to take pity on him and save him from a damnation he had fully brought on himself. Why? He had to know.

The canine opened his mouth to speak, but instead of words all that came out was a low, raspy noise. Damn it, the salt water. It wasn't just the cause of his throat burning; it had taken his voice as well.

The bedroom door flew open – he hadn't even noticed til now that it had been closed the whole time – and his crimson red eyes locked onto the two men who ran inside. He recognized them immediately. He should have. He'd known them for a good portion of his life.

The boss wolf opened his mouth again to speak, already knowing it was futile but not caring anymore, and one of the canines quickly ran to his side. The wild dog turned back to his friend. "He's awake, go get some water!", he yelled.

The other wolf nodded and ran back wherever the two of them had come from.

Zhong's wheezes grew louder as tried harder and harder to speak, to ask his men what the hell was going on, but his damn vocal chords wouldn't work right for him. He didn't care how beat up they were, he was going to keep putting them under stress until they did. Eventually, he made himself start coughing, but didn't stop either.

The wolf next to him, one of his cadets, couldn't bear to see him put himself through so much pain. "Commander Yu, stop!", the canine insisted.

Zhong turned his head around and scowled at him; it was the first time Jing had ever raised his voice at his commanding officer.

"Just please stop trying to talk. Tai'll be back soon with something to help you", the war dog reasoned, genuine fear and concern in his voice. Concern that was underserved.

That last thought finally got Zhong to close his mouth and reluctantly do what the subordinate dog requested; but he was still dying to get some answers. His men being here was just as impossible as him being here. They died, they all died, right before he died. He saw it happen, hell he was ten feet away when it happened. And yet here they all were.

So the question was, if Zhong was alive, and Tai was alive, and Jing was alive, how many others were still living? Maybe his men hadn't been slaughtered after all. Maybe they were just on the other side of that door. Again, it was killing him not knowing and he wished to hell he could talk, or that Tai would hurry up and bring him that water already.

As if he had read his mind Tai returned, this time leaving the door open; no doubt so whoever was on the other side would see and hear everything going on. The wild dog passed a tin cup to Jing, who then opened Zhong's mouth and poured a cool, steady stream of water down his parched throat.

Naturally as soon as the cold, blue liquid made contact with his sore, burning flesh the wolf shot up, coughing and clawing away his neck, like he was trying to scratch his insides.

"Commander stop!", Jing yelled, grabbing the older wolf's arms to stop him from hurting himself.

Tai did the same, but he held on to Zhong tighter, being the stronger of the two canines. "Relax Zhong. Xen said you would be like this at first. I know it hurts, and the burning won't go away for a day or two, but as long as you _calm down _and drink more water you should be able to talk again", Tai said calmly and authoratively. After all there was a reason Zhong made him his was second-in-command, and it wasn't just because he was the only dog in the guard brave enough to call him by his first name.

Tai's rationality rubbing off on him, Zhong slowly nodded his head and sat back down. He extended his palm towards Jing, and the wolf realized (a bit late) that he was gesturing for the cup. When he got it, Zhong's first instinct was to gulp it down in one swell swoop, when he stopped himself and realized that it was probably smarter to take it slow, give his body a chance to get used to action of drinking again. Of course the water still burned, but not as intensely as the first time; and after a while his throat _was_ starting to feel clearer.

When he was done, Zhong sat the cup down on the bedside table next to him (now that he was fully awake the wolf was starting to pay more attention to his surroundings, including the furniture in the room) and took a deep breath. Slowly, cautiously, he opened his mouth and made another effort to speak. It paid off. His voice was so low you could just barely make out what he was saying, but at least there were words instead of just 'static'.

"You're not wearing your masks", he coughed.

He hadn't caught it at first. Confusion and panic had clouded his mind until he did as Tai said and calmed down, and just like how he had noticed the open door and the table by the bed, Zhong finally realized he was seeing more of his men's faces than just their eyes – and that wasn't right. Unlike their leader Zhong's pack wore their masks nearly 24/7, so much so that only he and Shen knew what they what they really looked like underneath them.

Tai shrugged, as if Zhong's question was just a minor niggle, dwarfed by a bigger thought on his mind. "We haven't had much use for them here", he replied.

Zhong arched his eyebrow. "And where is _here_?", the one-eyed wolf asked, a little louder now.

"You should recognize this place. It's that cabin we found, outside Gongmen?", Jing said, hoping to jog his leader's memory.

"_We're in a cabin?_", Zhong thought, looking around him. Taking in every inch of the place, Zhong noted that the walls did look quite old and worn, indicating they had been exposed to the weather. But since there weren't any windows it wasn't exactly obvious from the inside they were in the wild.

As for the cabin itself, Zhong had a pretty good idea of what Jing was talking about. About a month ago, he and his men were on their way back to Gongmen after making a very successful raid on the Valley of Peace and noticed this strange cabin, located right in the middle of the forest and sitting all by its lonesome after having been abandoned by its owners for a few decades; maybe even centuries. He didn't go inside, but he sent two of his men to check for any leftover metal. Every little bit helped after all.

Like he was reading his mind again, Tai spoke. "We didn't have a lot of time, and this was the first place we thought to take you where no one would find us, since not even we knew of its existence until a little while ago", the grey wolf explained.

Zhong glanced at him, the veteran's curiosity turning to concern again. He had so many questions he had almost forgotten one of the most pressing ones. He threw the covers off him and jumped out of bed. "What happened?", he demanded.

Instead of answering, Tai and Jing just stared at him, wide-eyed, like they were staring at something Zhong couldn't see. "What happened?", he repeated, losing his patience.

Jing cleared his throat, and tore his eyes off whatever he had been looking at it. "The Dragon Warrior happened. He survived Lord Shen's attempts to kill him, twice. One by one destroyed Shen's weapons and decimated his fleet", the cadet explained.

"But he was shot. I saw him and his friends get shot!", Zhong said in disbelief.

"Zhong, we're living proof that the dead don't always stay dead. The panda found inner peace, and used Shen's own weapon against him", Tai informed.

"The fireworks were epic", Jing added, grinning toothily before he was silenced by Tai's disapproving stare.

"Nothing could stop him, he was unbeatable, and Shen had already proved his disloyalty to us, so we beat a hasty retreat before any more of us could fall. During the chaos, while the Dragon Warrior and his comrades were distracted, we fished as many of our wounded out of the sea as we could, including you", Tai continued.

No longer content with staying quiet, Jing spoke up again. "We thought you were dead Yu. You weren't breathing, and we thought you were dead", he said, shuddering as he remembered whatever had went down that morning.

"We didn't have time to determine whether you were alive or dead, so we took you with us when we fled into the forest. We didn't pump the water out of you until we knew they wouldn't follow us, and by then we thought we were too late", Tai said quietly. "Well, I say 'we', Koran actually did it", he added.

"_Koran_?", Zhong asked, really having a hard time believing this part. And for a good reason.

"He was so strong. Stronger than I would have been in his situation", Jing admitted. "I've run with you for a long time commander, and I've never been as scared as I was then. You'd already lost so much blood, but you were still bleeding _everywhere_", he shuddered again, obviously disturbed by the memories of his dying, crippled leader.

It was of no surprise to Zhong that Jing was so rattled by what he saw. He was one of the younger wolves of the pack, only twenty-seven years old compared to the older veterans like him who were in their forties and early fifties. Jing wasn't born yet when they laid siege to the Dragon Warrior's village all those years ago, and even though his pack had done plenty since then Jing had never had a chance to experience as battle as bloody as that one. Until now.

And it probably didn't help that he and Tai were part of the few wolves Zhong knew who didn't approve of their cruel war crimes; one of the few who had kept their consciences over the years. Unlike him. He almost envied them.

"Wait…you said I lost a lot of blood?", he asked his cadet. And then he remembered something else he had forgotten.

He hadn't just drowned. He'd also been stabbed – impaled by the blade of his best friend.

And here he thought he was just starting to become aware of things again. He had completely failed to realize the reason Tai and Jing had been staring at him when he stood up was because he shouldn't have been able to. Because it had only been a few days at least since he was injured and his wound would be still be very fresh and _very_ irritable.

No sooner had Zhong realized that than a jolt of that fiery pain that he remembered oh so well now filled his chest. Except this time he wasn't dying, so there wasn't anything to numb it or distract him from it. His adrenaline and his single-minded need to get some answers was what had protected him from noticing it before, but now that Jing had brought his attention to it there was no returning to blissful ignorance. The wolf yelped and fell to his knees on the floor, clutching his chest like an old man having a heart attack.

"Commander!", Jing yelled, wasting no time in grabbing his superior and pulling him back onto the bed. Behind him, Zhong could see a few more wolves run inside, worried about all the screaming. So there were others. "Are you alright?", Jing asked.

Zhong groaned and leaned against the headboard. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just continue. Tell me everything", he insisted.

Jing, though he was still concerned, nodded. Standing not far behind him, one of Zhong's men scowled at the one-eyed wolf. Koran; the one who saved him. Though judging by the way he was looking at him right now, he was having second thoughts about whether or not he should have done that. And Zhong couldn't say he blamed him.

His chest felt heavy again, but because of guilt rather than pain. For the first time in a long time Zhong avoided making contact with someone else besides Shen, and looked away from Koran, shame filling him.

"Koran got you breathing again, and I made a tourniquet with my shirt to stop the bleeding, but we needed some place to properly tend to your wounds, someplace not so exposed, so I suggested we come here. It's cramped, but it'll do", Jing said, looking around at the not-so-large bedroom they were resting in.

"But this cabin is tiny! There's only two floors! And even if it wasn't small, no cabin would be enough to hold hundreds", Zhong reasoned; once again his men weren't making any sense and he was starting to get tired of being confused all the time.

Jing glanced at Tai, and both wolves looked down at the floor. That one gesture was all Zhong needed to realize what they were thinking, as well as something else he had been missing this whole time. He was either getting old or stupid. "How many?", he said, quieting down respectfully.

"We don't know whether or not they're really gone. We survived after all. Maybe they did too and they're just imprisoned somewhere", Jing said hopefully.

"If they are then they're as good as dead anyway. Now _how many_?", Zhong repeated coldly, shooting that thought down almost immediately. He knew there was a difference between hopeful optimism and denial, and a soldier could never afford to go into denial. When living a life like his, it was always better to face the cold hard truth.

"Over two hundred. There's only thirty of us left", Tai reported, saying what Jing couldn't bring himself to.

Zhong closed his eyes and sank back into his pillow.

"We've thrown out all the furniture in this cabin except in this room. There are four of us living in every bedroom, and fifteen bunking in the living room", Tai continued.

"There's barely enough room for us to breathe, let alone move around. We're going to have to build more cabins, but we've been waiting for you to wake up first. _If_ you woke up", Jing added.

Zhong didn't answer. He was too busy thinking about the fact two hundred of his men were now dead. Because of him.

"You can't blame yourself for this happening", Tai said, once again speaking directly in time with Zhong's thoughts. Maybe he wasn't reading Zhong's mind, maybe he just knew how he thought really well. Perhaps when you fought alongside someone for thirty years you started to notice things about thing.

"But it _is_ my fault", Zhong said defiantly – he didn't even turn his head to look at his second-in-command, that's how certain he was that his words were the cold, hard truth. "I'm your leader, and I led you all to your deaths", he said, finally speaking what had been on his mind since he'd first woken up.

He suddenly felt Jing's hand on his face, pushing his head to the left, and suddenly he was face-to-face with the younger wolf; naturally he growled at him. But to his surprise, the cadet growled back.

"You can't focus on that now. A soldier's job isn't to grieve his dead brethren; he moves on and looks after the ones who are still alive. Remember that? It's the first thing you taught me when I was a kid and I lost someone. You told me it was something someone taught _you_ when you were my age. _You're_ still alive and you're still our leader. You've still got a job to do, so stop feeling sorry for yourself and tell us what to do", Jing ordered. Tai nodded, obviously agreeing with him.

Surprised, Zhong tilted to his side. Why did they still want him as their commanding officer? He had done nothing to earn their undying loyalty, except fail them time after time. He didn't even deserve to serve alongside them, let alone lead them.

"Because we're more than just your men. We're your friends Zhong. We were before all this crazy shit happened, and we still are now", Tai said, replying to his thoughts like he had read them on the one-eyed wolf's face.

Behind Tai, Koran's scowl deepened into a look of pure disgust; until Tai caught on and growled at him, warning him to leave the room. He had no problem obliging. He had enough of all this talk about friendship and loyalty.

Zhong sighed, and ran his paw over his face. "We'll hide out here for a while, until I can think of something to do", he decided.

"Is there anything else you want us to get you? Some more water?", Jing offered.

"No", Zhong grunted; he obviously wanted to be alone so he could think to himself. So he could blame himself some more. Still there was really nothing they could do for him to lessen the pain (physically and metaphorically), so the two wolves nodded their heads and padded out of the front door, leaving him to his thoughts.

Zhong didn't sleep that night. How could he sleep when he had death of thousands on his conscience? And it was just the first of many sleepless nights ahead of him.

**((()-()))**

Zhong blinked; the bright light of the fire irritating his eye(s). Maybe he shouldn't be standing so close, but he wanted to be close as possible to see this. The survivors of his pack, now only thirty strong, had built a bonfire outside the cabin – but not to keep warm or cook food. Like Tai said, they hardly had need for their masks anymore, or their armor. Or Shen's insignia.

They were no longer bandits, or soldiers, or guards, or anything with a formal title. Any honor they used to have was dead and forgotten, like so many of their numbers. They honestly had no idea what they were anymore besides fugitives, so they were doing away with anything that tied them to their old lives.

Some did it because they no longer wanted to be associated with Lord Shen and the sadistic dream he stood for, some because they wanted to erase any evidence of their wrong-doing, and a very small few, Zhong included, because they couldn't bear the shame of looking upon their former uniforms and remembering the pain and hurt they caused themselves and the rest of China.

So they stood there, totally and eerily silent in a semi-circle, as the flames engulfed all their broken weapons and tattered clothes (they planned on stealing more whenever they got the chance, but for now they just wanted to get this part of starting over over with). Pretty soon the fabric was torn apart, the metal melted down, and the wood burnt to cinders; the ashes from the pile blowing freely in the wind above and around them.

The last thing to be thrown in was Zhong's shoulder plate, and in just moments it was gone, like his former friend. Shen was never coming back, and Zhong never thought he'd say this, but he thanked god he wasn't. It was time for _him_ to lead his pack for once in his life, and he was going to try his best to make all the right choices.

In the distance, far enough away that she was hidden from the wolves but close enough to see their forms standing around the fire, an old goat rubbed her beard, waiting patiently – something one had to be very good at to be a soothsayer. That was one of the downsides to the job, having to always wait for the things you foresaw to actually happen. Sometimes it was just a few hours, sometimes a few days, and sometimes years.

She was here because even though Shen was defeated and her home liberated, she still had a vital (albeit small) role to play in a very long game, one that had been in play for decades. How it ended was entirely up to the Dragon Warrior.

"_**Doctor Who: Series Four Opening Credits**_" by Murray Gold begins.


	2. Chapter 2: The One-Eyed Warrior

**_Chapter 2: The One Eyed Warrior._**

"**_Smooth Criminal_**" by Michael Jackson begins.

He didn't know why he kept making these trips during the day; it was an incredibly stupid move for a tactician like himself to make. The best time to do things like this was at night, when he had a better of chance of getting away unseen. Still, the sun was high in the sky and there was nothing he could do about it now - he just had to get in, get what he needed, and get out.

The one-eyed commander carefully padded across the rooftops of several houses as he made his way towards the farmer's market of Gongmen City. He was always mindful to keep to the shadows and when he couldn't he jumped from roof to roof so fast he was sure no one would be able to make out the black and gray blur even if they saw him. He hoped so at least. He couldn't afford to let any of the Gongmenites know he had played a stunt like this, sneaking back into their city, because it would lead them straight to the other wolves.

Three months had passed since the failed invasion of Gongmen and pretty much all of China. The city was an absolute wreck. Huts were destroyed, the wharf was burnt to a crisp, and the Tower of the Sacred Flame, which had been an icon of the city for generations, was in pieces - all of this was collateral damage of Shen's war. In just a few weeks he and his minions had devastated Gongmen City, leaving Masters Ox and Croc with one hell of a mess to clean up.

Po and the Furious Five had offered to stay and help rebuild but the older Masters insisted that their place was back in the Valley of Peace, protecting their people, and the longer they were away the bigger risk of something happening there, so they sent them all on their way.

Instead they recruited the help of the royal palace guard (the ones that were actually still loyal to the city) to help them clean up. For the record, they were some of the worse fighters Zhong had ever seen (nowhere near as good as their mentors), but they got the job done of keeping the city on its feet during its time of weakness.

While Ox and Croc focused mainly on rebuilding the palace/courthouse, the wharf, and other important structures, the guard cleaned the rest of the village (an effort that still wasn't finished yet), while keeping out unwanted intruders who might take advantage of the city's lowered defenses.

They were the reason Zhong was crawling along rooftops and hiding in the shadows of alleys; they might be sorry fighters but if just one of them caught sight of him and reported his appearance to their superiors, Ox and Croc would know Zhong's pack was still in the area and hunt them down.

Even though more than a hundred bodies had been found in the wharf, the masters knew the body count should have much bigger and realized that part of Shen's army had managed to survive _and_ escape. They knew they had to still be somewhere in China, but didn't have the time or resources to go looking for them.

So instead of leaving the forest and hiding somewhere further away like his men had suggested they do, Zhong had his troops remain exactly where they were; knowing the royal guard would never think to look for them right under their noises. It was a risky move but a successful one nonetheless.

Of course Zhong always pushed their luck when he did crazy stuff like this - sneaking into the capital city to steal food and supplies for his pack. Hunting had been almost nonproductive lately and they were all going to go hungry if he didn't do take this risk. His lieutenants, Tai and Jing, suggested coming with him, but he only told them the same thing he always told them whenever they would ask - he worked better solo.

So the canine looked all around him, and as stealthily as he could, jumped down to the street, never making more than a soft thud as he landed. A bit paranoid (and rightfully so) he looked around him again, and made his way towards an abandoned bread cart. Well, not abandoned, just left unattended for the moment while it's owner was away; which meant he didn't have much time.

Zhong picked up a loaf in his furry paws and observed the grainy wheat food, grimacing slightly. It wasn't meat, but it'd have to do. "_Leaf eaters_", he thought, wondering why some people actually enjoyed eating these things. He stuffed more than a few loaves in the burlap sack he had brought with him, but stopped halfway.

He and his men had already destroyed most of these people's homes…and now he was stealing their food. Talk about rubbing salt in their wounds. He quickly shook off the thought and resumed his pilfering; after all, anything for the survival of the pack, right? So why did his own words from so long ago sound so bitter now?

He moved a few alleys down and found another unattended cart, this one filled with apples. The fruit definitely tasted better than the bread, but still wasn't filled with juicy red blood despite its deceptively red appearance.

Speaking of the color red….

The owners of Gongmen's liquor store really shouldn't haven't left their backdoor unlocked, considering the precious substance they sold there.

It had been way too long since Zhong had tasted any kind of delicious alcohol on his lips, and considering how tense things were back at the camp he knew his men wouldn't mind him bringing some back to speed up the long, boring nights either.

By the time he was done stuffing bottles into it, the sack was half-way full. He only had one last thing he needed to pick up – medical supplies.

Though they were out of action, injuries within the pack still happened quite often; whether they were accidental, self-inflicted, or the result of two wolves pissing each other off. Now Xen was a good doctor, but even he needed real material to work with – bandages, ointment, and other stuff that Zhong didn't really give a damn about but knew was necessary.

Stealing from the hospital would just be plain crazy (even for him), so he chose to loot one of the local healers. Unfortunately for him the family was still at home, so as quietly as he could he climbed in the upstairs window, raided their rooms for all the doctor-y stuff he could find, and got out as fast as he got in.

His task was complete, and he couldn't get out of Dodge quick enough.

But despite how badly he wanted to just leave and be done with this part of the day, Zhong couldn't stop himself from stopping and looking down at the street below, when he saw something troubling out of the corner of his eye.

It was troubling because he saw two men, a pair of bison, hassling one of the village women. They weren't part of the city guard, just two of the city's annoyances; and the female wasn't like the other villagers. She was a gray wolf.

Imagine being a gray wolf living in a city full of leaf eaters after your kind just destroyed said city? Life would suck pretty badly. And Zhong knew that because he sometimes saw the difficulties of her life firsthand when he snuck into Gongmen; he could never stop himself from watching.

The unfortunate girl, whose name was Shu by the way, had come to Gongmen City about two months ago. She was just one of the many people who came there every year to start a new life in the metropolis. She had expected to be one of the first wolves living in the famed city for generations. Instead when she got there she found out her dream town was a wreck and she was very unwelcome by her neighbors, who either ignored her or told her to leave.

Of course she stayed, and Zhong had to admit he admired her stubbornness and unwillingness to back down. She wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes either. Yeah maybe he felt kind of perverted having his eyes on a she-wolf who looked to be about half his age, but she was just the kind of female he would have fallen for in his youth. The kind he'd like to be his mate, if things were different and his life wasn't totally screwed up. And that's saying something, because the boss wolf wasn't a man who was easily impressed.

Anyway, the Shu girl's problem at the moment was that she was being followed around everywhere by two brothers who didn't seem to understand the meaning of the word 'no'.

"Come on, just one kiss", one of them coaxed sleazily.

"I want one", the other slurred.

Shu (who after saying no the first time had been trying her best to ignore them) turned around and frowned at the pair. "Are you drunk?", she asked, having a pretty good idea about what the answer would be.

"We might have had a few shots down at the tavern", the older one said nonchalantly, or as nonchalant as a drunk guy can get.

"I know, we can share you", his younger sibling suggested out of the blue.

Shu scowled. "You can't 'share' me, I'm not a prostitute. Now get that through your thick, inebriated heads", she growled, obviously offended.

"_Inebriated_?", the younger one asked, obviously confused by the _really_ big word she just used.

"Hey you're the one walking around in public dressed like that", the older sibling shot back.

Shu glanced down at the flower dress she had picked out for herself that morning. "And what's wrong with the way I dress?", she asked, growing impatient.

"_It is pretty short_", Zhong noted, grinning to himself when he saw how it just barely went as low as her knees.

"You're a tease", the horned mammal told her.

Shu narrowed her eyes and turned on her heels. "I don't have to listen to this", she decided, walking off with her head held high.

She didn't get very far however, before her arm was caught in the grip of a very pissed off bison. "You're not going anywhere until we get what we want", the voice of the older brother said from behind her.

"Yeah, we've waited a long time to find a girl who's at least close to our size, and attitude problem or not you'll just have to do", the younger male added, flanking his big brother like Shu guessed he always did.

The lupine sighed in frustration. "Well boys, you picked the wrong girl to mess with", she declared, before she bent over and tossed the bigger animal over her shoulder. He landed flat on his back in the sand and his younger sibling had just enough time to realize what happened before his face was met with Shu's foot.

"Oh-ho!", Zhong chortled, a childish grin on his face as he watched the troublemakers get their butts kicked by a girl. And one of his kind to add to the pleasure. This was getting good.

Still, he had to get back to the forest before someone saw him.

Any minute now.

The older brother snarled, and wiped dirt off his clothes. "You're gonna pay for that bitch", he promised.

Shu's unfazed expression remained the same as he charged towards her. She waited until he was right on top of her before she stuck out her foot and tripped the goon up, humiliating him once again.

"_She's pretty smart too_", Zhong noted as he saw how quickly the girl thought on her feet. Then he noticed the other of the two men sneaking up behind her. He almost, foolishly, shouted at her to watch out, but kept his mouth closed and let the scene play out uninterrupted.

Shu found herself tackled to the ground, buried underneath a ton of bison weight, her face only a few inches away from that cretin's. "I told you I'd get that kiss", he taunted her, as he inched towards her lips. He came close but didn't quite make contact, because even though Shu couldn't move her limbs she could still move her head. The she-wolf head-butted him with all the force she had and the bison screamed, falling to the ground besides her.

Zhong, feeling just like an idiot, raised a paw to his mouth to keep himself from laughing his ass off. It was just that funny. And he hadn't laughed this much (real laughter instead of the bitter, mocking kind) in years.

Still, Shu couldn't keep it up forever. It was two against one, and no matter how crafty she was her opponents were still bigger and stronger than her – and likely had more stamina. She would tire out before they did.

Oh, he really should be going.

Suddenly Shu felt herself being lifted into the air and then sent crashing back down like a rag doll. Big brother had returned and literally threw her into the ground in a drunken rage. "That's it whore, we're done playing around!", he snarled, close to his breaking point.

The younger bison, whose head was still bleeding from Shu's last assault, shared his brother's expression of both fury and lust as said brother helped him to his feet. "I'm going to enjoy this", he said, trying to make the female afraid.

It didn't work.

As the two made their way towards her, she stood her ground instead of running away or calling for help (no one would have come anyway, almost everyone there wanted her gone). She was like a rock standing up to the oncoming tide.

But before either one of the threesome could make their next move, the bigger bison realized his little brother wasn't standing beside him anymore. He looked up to see a screaming mammal being dragged upwards by a long black arm, connected to what looked like a crazed, one-eyed lupine clinging to the side of a wall like Spider-Man. Shu's back-up had arrived.

After greeting the would-be rapist with his fist, Zhong let the stalker fall back to the street – right on top of his brother – and jumped down after him.

Shu looked away, expecting him to seriously hurt himself, but the older canine landed gracefully (if that was the right word for it) on both feet and wasted no time in continuing where he left off. Not wanting to give them time to call for help, see his face, or even realize what the hell was happening, he slammed their heads together, knocking them both out cold.

Once he was sure the job was done, he let the scum slip from his fingers and land side by side on the street. When they woke up, suffering from an even bigger hangover headache than usual, they wouldn't bother Shu anymore.

"**_Amy and Rory_**" by Murray Gold begins.

Shu, mouth wide open, stared right at him as soon he turned his attention back to her – getting a nice good look at his face. Like most of his kind he was tall and lanky but also plenty muscular. He had a mohawk, short floppy ears, one good eye with a crimson iris, a goatee, _lots_ of fur, and seemed to be wearing poorly-made homemade clothes (whoever sewed them obviously had no idea what he or she was doing).

"Who…who are you?", she asked. She almost expected him to say 'the midnight stranger', but that wouldn't have made any sense. Instead the gray wolf ignored her and bounded into the air, scaling the wall he just jumped down from and disappearing over the rooftop.

Once he was out of eyesight Zhong cursed himself for being so stupid and getting involved. He would never have let that girl seen him if he hadn't thought she was pretty. At least, that's what he told himself.

He growled and shook his head, tossing his sack of stolen items over his shoulders and running away in the direction of Gongmen Forest. He wouldn't be taking any more trips into the city anytime soon.

Shu meanwhile was left trying to piece together what just happened. A random stranger just saved her life. Another wolf just saved her life. And he jumped down from someone's rooftop, which meant he must have already been hiding there, watching the whole thing. Spying on her.

That would have been totally creepy if not for the fact that for a stalker, Shu thought that one-eyed guy was pretty cute. Not exactly a sight for sore eyes.

**_Author's Notes:_**

The Wolf Boss is often written as a lover of all kinds of alcohol in fanfics (like "**_The End_**" for example). For whatever reason, I've always thought this fits him and his reckless personality, so I decided to continue the 'tradition'.


	3. Chapter 3: The Dumpling Warrior

**_Chapter 3: The Dumpling Warrior._**

Miles away from Gongmen City, on the other side of the country, laid China's very own paradise - the Valley of Peace. Founded by the late Master Oogway and protected by the famous Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five, it was one of the most popular destinations in all of China.

People came to the Valley to start anew, to build a brand new life free from the evil and tyranny that corrupted other parts of the world. The Valley was Oogway's dream come to life. It was the hometown of the Dragon Warrior himself – Po the panda.

The black and white bear closed his eyes and held his breath as walked across a fairly thick piece of wood spread between two (fairly sturdy) pile of bricks. He got about halfway through before he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"_Ugh, why can't I do this?!_", he groaned, running his paws down his face.

"Having trouble?", a very familiar female asked him.

Po's eyes bugged and the bear leapt to his feet, quick to deny his teammate's well-intentioned question. "No, no trouble at all", he lied (very poorly).

His feline friend narrowed her eyes, looking at him and the makeshift balance beam. "You're trouble is with balancing, isn't it?", she guessed.

Po sighed and hung his head down; there was no point in lying to her. She would just see right through him – like everyone always did. "Yeah", he admitted, kicking his feet through the dirt.

Tigress rubbed her chin, a very Shifu-like move she had no doubt picked up from him over the years. "A lack of balance and coordination is almost always a mental problem, as well as a physical one", she mused.

"What does that mean?", he asked her, a little lost.

"It means something about you has changed", she replied. She stepped a little closer and examined the panda from top to bottom, though for what reason Po wasn't sure. "A few months ago you achieved inner peace and performed feats even the most experienced of masters had difficulty learning; now you can't even walk on a plank of wood straight", she elaborated further. "Something about you is off balance", she surmised.

Po gulped. "Off balance? I'm perfectly _in_ balance, perfectly in tune with nature… and the universe", he said quickly, trying to throw her off the scent.

"Hmm", Tigress mused; her skepticism couldn't be any more obvious. And then something in her expression changed, and Po closed his eyes in frustration, knowing she was onto him.

"You've been showing less progress than the rest of us in training lately. This slump of yours didn't start until two months ago, when we got back from Gongmen City", she realized, connecting the dots. Po dreaded her next question. "Does this have anything to do with what happened there?", she inquired, her tone shifting from suspicion to concern for her friend.

"Yes", Po admitted quietly.

"Why? It's all over now", she asked, not understanding – not that he expected her to.

"I know I have no reason to keep obsessing over it Ti. We stopped the war, beat the bad guy and saved the city, but for some reason I don't feel…complete. I thought inner peace was supposed to do it for you, but it still feels like there's something missing. Something I should have done that I didn't do. Like I've got unfinished business", Po explained, choosing his words carefully to explain the unexplainable.

His friend seemed to get the gist of it; the fact that her eyebrow was raised meant she was thinking. She opened her mouth again, and Po knew she was going to question him some more, when someone else beat her to the punch.

"Master Po, Master Tigress", an old red panda greeted, shuffling onto the part of the Jade Palace's lawn where his students were located. "There's something we all need to discuss. Come with me", he requested, before turning and going back the way he came.

Po and Tigress glanced at each other, curious, before doing as their master asked and following him inside the palace.

**((()-()))**

"**_Supermassive Black Hole_**" by Muse begins.

Any boring task could be made interesting by singing while you were working, like washing the enormous pile of dishes the kung fu masters went through every day. And since they were more than just athletically gifted, Masters Crane, Viper, and Mantis did just that.

"**_Oh baby_** **_don't you know that I suffer? Oh baby can you hear me moan_**?", Monkey sang, grabbing a plate from the pile and tossing it to his friend Mantis.

Mantis dipped the plate in soapy water, soaking and wiping it thoroughly before tossing it to his friend Viper.

Viper, using that incredibly long tail of her, engulfed the plate with a towel, covering all of it at once and wiping it with passion until it was dry. She gave it to Crane who (being the tallest) placed it on top of the rapidly growing pile of clean dishes. Not only were they getting their jobs done at a steady pace, but they did all this to the beat of Monkey's lyrics, giving him something to work with.

"**_You caught me under false pretenses, how long before you let me go?_**", the simian continued, banging his paws against the kitchen sink. "**_Ooh…_****_you set my soul alight. Ohh… you set my soul alight_**", the simian crooned.

"**_Glaciers melting in the dead of night, and the superstars sucked into the supermassive_**", his avian, insect, and serpent friends added.

"**_Ooh…baby you set my alight_**", Monkey continued, tossing Mantis another plate.

"**_Glaciers melting in the dead of night, and the superstars sucked into the supermassive_**", his friends repeated a second time.

"**_You set my soul alight_**", Monkey sang, before he realized his friends had stopped giving him a beat. He heard someone clear their throat, followed by that person saying "Master Monkey". The simian turned around to see Master Shifu, Po, and Tigress had joined them in the kitchen. The langur smiled nervously.

Shifu looked surprisingly unfazed by the whole thing; Tigress meanwhile looked caught off guard, while Po looked like his mind was blown. "Aw, why'd you stop them?", the panda whined, talking of course to Shifu. He looked at his friends.

"That was awesome! You guys never told me you could sing too. I would have started a band you years ago", Po said quickly, heading into one of his famous power-babbles. "We can do it now. It'd be called Tenacious D. Monkey and I would be the leads, you guys could back me up, and Tigress…", he said excitedly, glancing at the striped master behind him. He was quiet for just one second, looking stumped, before turning back to his embarrassed teammates. "Well, we'd find something for Tigress to do", he decided.

Shifu, eyes closed, sighed. "Po, could you please calm down for a moment so I can make the announcement", he requested. By now he had gotten so used to Po's random moments of gushing it had practically become same old same old to him, something that was far too predictable to be that annoying anymore.

Po felt his cheeks get hot; he had all forgotten about that already. "Right, sure. Sorry Master Shifu", the bear said, stepping out of the older man's way so he could move into the center of the room.

His student watched with rapt attention as the red panda reached into his sleeve and extracted a long green scroll. "It's a letter from Masters Ox and Croc, of the royal court of Gongmen City", he declared.

The goofy grin that had been stretched across Po's disappeared almost instantly at the mention of that name. This couldn't be a coincidence. It was impossible for it to be a coincidence.

"By now I'm sure you've heard about the string of high-profile robberies that have gripped our nation", Shifu said calmly.

"The missing artifacts? It's been the talk of China for two years now", Viper replied.

Shifu nodded. "Priceless, irreplaceable relics have been stolen right from under the nose of their owners. Even museum pieces have gone missing recently only to turn on the black market. Very few have been recovered. No one has any idea who these thieves, the Yan-Li, are. They're much too thorough to be caught in the act or tracked down", the old master elaborated. "Not to mention they silence and all witnesses. Bodies have been found at the scenes of their crimes", he added.

"So they're killers too?", Monkey scowled.

"And the worst kind - killers for profit", Crane said, grinding his beak together.

"They've been appearing and disappearing all over China for years and no one has had so much of lead until now", Shifu continued.

"We know where they are?", Mantis asked eagerly.

"Kind of", Shifu replied hesitantly. It was so rare of him to actually be unsure of something he was telling his pupils that it almost seemed out of character for him. "A few weeks ago a man came forward to Masters Ox and Croc asking for their protection. He was certain he was being watched and that he was going to be killed soon for something he saw", the red panda explained.

"The bandits", Tigress realized.

"It's just a hunch, but it's a lead, and Ox and Croc can't afford not to follow up on it. If the Yan Li are indeed hiding somewhere in Gongmen City that means it could be hit next. Except Ox and Croc can't go undercover to investigate, they're much too publicly known. They would be recognized within an hour, someone would alert the bandits, they'd skip town and possibly the best chance to capture them would be lost", Shifu said gravely.

"So that's where we come in right? We go to Gongmen, go undercover again and bag these punks", Mantis growled, pounding his tiny feelers together.

Po's eyes widened, and the panda stepped forward. "But…but can't they send for any guys for the job? I mean we're public symbols too. Heck, I'm the Dragon Warrior, hero to the people!", the bear rambled nervously.

"You forgot egotist", Monkey muttered, snickering.

Shifu, undeterred, slipped the scroll back into his sleeve. "I'm sure they have their reasons Po. I might not know what those reasons are but I know they need our help, and we don't turn our back on our friends", Shifu resolved. Then his tone became less formal and more personal, more sympathetic.

"Po, I know you and Gongmen City have a shared history, so I can understand why you might not be so eager to return to it, but the people need the Dragon Warrior right now. Remember, the past doesn't matter, only the present", the red panda advised.

Po sighed. "Right, the present", he mumbled. He and his friends bowed before their master, and he did the same, before they went their separate ways – heading to their bedrooms to pack for the trip ahead. They only had until the next morning to prepare.

As Po walked towards his, Tigress placed her paw on his shoulder. "Are you going to be alright?", she asked. He knew she didn't have a lot of experience comforting people or being there for someone, so this had to be awkward. But the fact that she willing to put herself so far out of her comfort zone just proved how good a friend she was.

Po put on his best fake smile and nodded reassuringly. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. We get to go on another road trip tomorrow", he said, feigning excitement.

The look on Tigress' face practically screamed 'cut the bull', but knowing she couldn't force her friend to come clean (she tried that once with disastrous results), she nodded back and padded towards her living space.

Po closed his door behind him and sat down on his mat. He didn't know why he didn't want to go to Gongmen. It was just a city. He had been to plenty of cities, what was so different about this one?

And then he admitted the truth to himself.

He lied when he told Tigress he didn't know what was still bothering him about their last mission to Gongmen City. The reason he felt like he didn't quite succeed was because so many had died during the war they only just joined in towards the end. The body count was _enormous_, and the list of the dead skyrocketed during the final battle, when the peacock prince and his entire army perished in the fires they themselves had created.

He may have been able to save China but he didn't save them, or the hundreds of villagers they had already slaughtered. Despite how childish or goofy he acted he was still an adult, and that sort of thing weighed heavily on the bear's conscience. To Po, no battle could really be considered a victory if there was a death toll attached to it.

Gongmen City only reminded him of all the people he had failed. Going back there would mean facing all that, and the fact he was a failure to the Dragon Warrior name.

He had lost his sense of inner peace because his confidence was shot; and he didn't see any way he was ever gonna get it back.

But as much as he wanted to avoid Gongmen City, he also felt like fate was drawing him back to it for some reason. Like he still had that unfinished business he told Tigress about (the part of his story that hadn't been a lie). Maybe stopping these Yan-Li guys would help him get his mojo back.


	4. Chapter 4: Choices

_**Chapter 4: Choices**__**.**_

"_**Full Moon**_" by the Black Ghosts begins.

He'd packed his bags, stuffed as many dumplings into his pocket as possible, and for the second time that year said good-bye to his father. Now it was time for Po to once again put his home behind him as he departed for foreign lands.

Naturally getting to Gongmen meant first passing through all the mountains and treacherous rock ridges that laid between it and the Valley of Peace. And of course, Po decided to pass the time by doing what he did best – talking about fanboy stuff.

"Seriously guys, I don't know why I'm the only one who's excited about this. We could sing songs at kids' parties", the bear offered, inching along the narrow ledge he and his friends were crossing. It was a long way down if he fell and he wasn't sure Crane would be able to fly fast enough to catch him if he did.

"Give it a rest Po", Monkey grumbled.

"Yeah, we've performed at kids' parties before. It was the most embarrassing day of my life", Mantis replied, shuddering at the memory.

"I had to be a talking carrot", Viper added from behind them.

"Hey, it's only embarrassing if you make it embarrassing", Po argued. He was not going to let the band thing go until someone took his side. Unfortunately, his friends were just as stubborn as him.

After making it through the chasms they had to worry about the rocky slopes. Po knew better this time then to try to rush through them. Like his teammates he did his best to control his descent as he slid down the side of one of the summits.

From there the six masters traveled through the rare desert area of China. Po trudged his feet through the sand, feeling like he was going to die of heatstroke. This was one of the downsides to being so big and fluffy.

He finally got some relief when they made it to river leading to Gongmen. Adding to that relief, Tigress didn't try to have a heart-to-heart with him this time, leaving the panda to his troubles and trusting he would tell her what was bothering him when the time was right. After all, she knew her best friend better than most (even if she would never let him know she considered him his best friend).

They stopped the boat about halfway to their destination, and got off in the middle of the Gongmen forest.

They weren't dealing with a full scale invasion like last time – this was an infiltration. The bandits wouldn't be on every street at every corner, running the town like a police state; they'd be hiding in the shadows. So Shifu's students would also have to be as stealthy as possible too and take the back door approach, entering the city through the forest route.

**((()-()))**

Zhong Yu yawned, rubbing his temples. The wolf was bent over the bedside table in his bedroom, writing down words on a scroll. Normally he would have turned in by now but he didn't want to go to sleep until he finished his 'work'; or was at least halfway through it.

The reason for the air quotes was that even though that's what he called it whenever someone asked about it, it was really much more personal than that. Something he did because he wanted to do it, whenever he had spare time.

Excepting now it was frustrating him, and if there was one thing Zhong hated it was being frustrated. He was tempted to just lose his temper like he always did and start balling up the paper, but resisted.

Instead the pissed-off canine stood up from his chair and let his quill fall on the floor. He needed to blow off some steam. He needed a release. And he knew the quickest and easiest way to get one.

The canine walked over to his newly added window, took a big deep breath of air, and started howling at the silvery orb in the night sky; knowing they were living too far in the forest for anyone to hear him.

When he was done he sighed and walked back to his chair. He picked up his quill, took a nice long sip of wine (licking his lips afterwards), and started writing again.

**((()-()))**

Not too far away, in the center of a clearing, Po and the Furious Five set up their tents.

"You sure you won't get us lost tomorrow?", Monkey asked his pal, worried.

"Relax, we have this map of all the forest routes nearby", Po reminded him, pulling a folded-up piece of paper out of his pocket and showing it to the langur. After making sure he got a nice long look Po slipped it back in and returned to his job of holding up the tent.

"Yes but can you _read_ it?", Monkey restated, not comforted by the bear's reply.

"Don't be such a worrywart. You can trust the Dragon War-", Po said reassuringly before he was cut off midsentence.

Out of all the sounds of night Po expected to hear when he went into the forest, a wolf's howl was not one of them. Especially not one that familiar.

The panda let the tent slip from his hands and stared up at the starry night sky, looking in all directions to try and figure out where the howling came from. "_But that's impossible_", he thought frantically, ears flattening in fear.

His friends looked just as alarmed as he did, but for different reason. "You don't think that came from a bandit, do you?", Monkey asked his serpent comrade.

"The Lin Quay gang?", Viper guessed, worried.

"I doubt it. If a bandit, or bandits, was ambushing us they wouldn't be stupid enough to let us know they were coming", Tigress said, deciding to be the voice of reason while her friends were all panicking.

"Yeah but wolves are known to use howls as battle cries", Monkey argued.

"_Oh do I know_", Po thought, squinting his eyes as he tried to look off into the darkened forest.

"Nobody even knows were here", Tigress frowned. "The only reason you're all on edge and making such a big deal out of this is because we're back in this place. The wolves we fought here are dead, just like their master, and we can't stay up all night being on guard for a deceased enemy when we have another, very real, one waiting for us in town that we may have to fight as early as tomorrow morning. We need to get some sleep", she reasoned.

Somehow she was both the most hotheaded and levelheaded member of the Five at the same time. She watched as logic and common sense prevailed over confusion and fear, and her teammates started to relax.

"Yeah, you're right. It's probably just a villager or something", Crane decided, flapping his wings dismissively and taking a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, it's not like all wolves are thieves", Monkey added.

"Or ghosts", Mantis smirked.

The edge of Tigress' lips curled upward in a tiny, pleased smile until she noticed Po still had his back turned to them, trying his best to see through the darkness.

He knew Tigress had a point, and his nerves were almost certainly working against him. But that didn't change the fact that the howl he heard sounded exactly like the one caused by the former, now late, boss wolf of Lord Shen's forces.

Now he hardly knew anything about wolves (it's not like there were plenty living in the Valley of Peace), but he had a hunch howls were like individuals – no two were alike. He couldn't shake the feeling he had just heard what Mantis described as a ghost.

**((()-()))**

Po felt…strange. Like he was there, but he wasn't there at the same time; if that made any sense. He felt light as a feather, as opposed to weighing hundreds of pounds like he usually did. And then there was the fact he couldn't see anything around him besides fog.

He walked to left he found fog, he walked to the right he found fog, he ran around circles and he ran through fog, fog, and more fog. The lake or river that was causing all this had to be enormous.

Eventually he got tired of walking in circles and decided to just start walking; and keep walking until he found something solid.

After what seemed like ten minutes, he saw something else ahead of him besides translucent white mist. The color orange. Yeah it wasn't much to go on, but it was good enough for him.

The bear jogged towards it, noticing how the air around him seemed to be getting warmer, until he reached what he figured would be waiting for him. A campfire. Embers popped and crackled softly at the base of it while the larger flames crept and danced through the air, warming Po's soggy fur (he was pretty soaked after running through all that fog).

But it wasn't the fire that interested him. No, it was the person who created it.

A bearded (female) goat stirred the flames, ignoring the panda in front of her for a while, before lifting her head to smile at him. "Are you lost Dragon Warrior?", she asked knowingly. It was plain to see Shen's soothsayer hadn't lost her mystique.

"Am I dreaming?", was Po's first question, as he looked around at miles of nothingness that stretched out in all directions.

"It was the only way I could talk to you. I'm dreaming as well", she replied nonchalantly. She picked up a cup of tea (which Po just noticed was sitting to her right on the ground) and took a sip.

Po's mouth fell open a little. "Whoa", he whispered, his mind blown by that one sentence. "How?", he asked; he had to know.

"It's a very complicated technique; one that takes years for a psychic to master", she said, taking another sip of her tea. In the back of his mind Po wondered how many more she would take before the cup ran out of tea – if it ever ran out. They were in a dream after all.

"So are we in your dream or mine?", he asked further, excited.

"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that we need to talk Dragon Warrior", she said, finally putting down her tea and standing up from the log she was sitting on.

"Talk about what? Why did you contact me? Does this have something to do with me returning to Gongmen City?", Po asked her; he had so many questions he was literally asking a different one every second. He wanted to slap himself for that last one though; it was so stupid in hindsight. Of course it had something to do with Gongmen City; everything seemed to be connected to it.

"Yes and no", the woman replied, perplexing him even further. Why couldn't these people give him a clear answer just _once_? Why did ancient wisdom _always_ have to be so confusing? "First, I want to thank you to returning here, I know it wasn't easy", she said gratefully.

"Yeah well I'm just doing my job, it doesn't matter what I want", Po replied, trying to play it off as being unbothered but failing because he broke eye contact with her to look at the flames.

The old woman's expression was warm and sympathetic. "You have lost so much already, but there's still one more sacrifice to be made", she said.

"_**The Doctor's Theme**_" by Murray Gold begins.

Po's head shot back up, his jade green eyes filled with shock and alarm. "One more what?", he asked, wanting the old goat to repeat herself.

"You will lose something soon, and you'll give it up willingly", the fortuneteller predicted.

This was too much. "You-you mean I'm gonna-", Po stammered, frightened.

"It is not your life that will be lost Po, but something just as precious", the goat replied, though her words were hardly comforting. There were so many things that were precious to Po, and according to the bearded lady he was going to sacrifice one of them…willingly.

"What?", he asked, terrified of what the answer would be.

"I can't tell you that", she said, making him feel both relieved and frustrated at the same time at the lack of answers. "You will find out for yourself in due time", she said, as a fact. Which meant she was 100% certain that _this_ prediction would come true. This prediction of disaster.

"No", Po choked, closing his eyes and falling to his knees on the ground. To his surprise, once he was down to her level the anonymous woman placed her paw on one of his arms, rubbing it tenderly.

"You have nothing to be afraid of Po. You _do_ have many hard choices ahead of you, and there _will_ come a time when you feel even more lost than you do now. But when the moment of truth comes and you have to make a truly crucial decision, I know you will make the right one", she said; unlike the panda she really was unworried by the visions she saw.

"And how do you know that?", he asked her. There had to be a reason she was so cool and calm. Some kind of hope or bright side to the near future; and he wanted to know what it was.

"Because you and I are going to be seeing each other again real soon", she smiled. And that was all she told him before the fog lifted and the panda woke up.

**((()-()))**

Po's eyes snapped open. Light was shining through the triangular walls of the tent, which meant it had to be sunrise. The bear sat up and looked around him, searching for his friends. Crane, Mantis, and Monkey were already up and stretching their legs nearby, and Tigress and Viper were probably doing the same in the girls' tent. Po breathed a sigh of relief and laid down again.

It was all just a dream. A really bad dream. Being back in Gongmen City and hearing that wolf howl the night before was definitely making him paranoid; he was so worried something bad would happen he was _dreaming_ about something bad happening. The sooner they got this mission over with and went home, the better.


	5. Chapter 5: Trouble in Paradise

**_Chapter 5: Trouble in Paradise._**

Zhong drummed his fingers against the wooden table, deep in thought, before dipping his quill in some more ink and scribbling down a few more words onto his parchment. Getting a good night's sleep and giving his brain a rest had definitely helped, but progress was still slow.

His bedroom door opened and Zhong looked behind him to see his former cadet/now second-lieutenant walk in. "Jing, what is it? Is it time to start building again already?", he yawned, stretching his arms.

Speaking of slow progress, for the past three months Zhong's pack had been trying to amend their space problem. After their arrival they turned one cabin into five (giving themselves much more room to sleep and move around), and the sixth and final one was nearly complete.

"It's the others sir, they want to speak to you", Jing reported.

Zhong arched an eyebrow and stood up from his seat. Walking past the younger canine, he padded down the staircase leading to the first floor and found more than thirty wild dogs waiting for him in the living room; all of them had their arms crossed and looked frustrated about something. He had a pretty good idea what.

"You want to talk to me?", he asked, folding his own arms as he waited for wolves to start talking.

"There was hardly enough food to go around last night", one of them said.

Zhong shrugged. "Hunting's still a little slow, we'll find some more food", he said reassuringly.

"Why can't you just steal some more?", one of his brothers growled at him.

Zhong didn't like his tone.

The one-eyed canine curled his lip over his teeth. "And risk being seen? I don't want to bring the whole royal guard down on us", he reminded him, trying to talk some sense into the canine. Now all of the lupines had sneers to match Zhong's.

The pack's physician, Xen, stepped forward to scowl at the very same man who's life he was once saved. "So you're going to risk us starving to death because you're too scared of what the villagers might do to you?", he challenged. He and the others were getting more and more disrespectful.

Zhong growled and confronted the doctor head-on, making him take a cautious step back. "I'm not _scared_ of anything. I'm trying to keep us all alive!", he shouted, losing his patience. "You don't speak to your leader that way", he warned, jabbing his finger at the smaller canine.

"Well you're doing a sorry job as our leader", one of the other wolves said sarcastically.

Zhong curled his paws into fists and jerked around to see which one of them spoke out that time. He wasn't surprised to find it was Koran. The wild dog was always the one who questioned his authority the most; always the one pushing his luck. Always tempting him into doing something he'd regret. Like he had some kind of death wish.

"Instead of hiding in these woods like a bunch of cowards, I say we take Gongmen City by force. It's been done once, it can be done again", he suggested, actually getting a few shouts of agreements from his brothers. The fools.

Zhong advanced towards his insolent packmate, getting right in his face, but unlike Xen the lupine never flinched. "Except you forget that our numbers aren't nearly strong as they used to be, and even attempting an attack on Gongmen would be a suicide mission. It would bring us nothing but trouble", he barked.

Koran tilted his head to the side, smiling maliciously. "That's not what you said thirty years ago", was his simple reply; but there was no mistaking the venom in his lazy tone. He put just the right emphasis on just the right words to hit his leader where it hurt the most, and freeze him where he stood.

Koran. Oh Koran. It was hard to believe he was the same wolf Zhong used to play with when they were classmates at the royal academy. They used to be brothers. Koran always did have a temper (he was hotheaded, just like his friend), and they fought a lot when they were puppies. But this time was different. Before they would fight for fun, now it was personal. Very personal.

Koran hated him. He could see it in his eyes.

Oh how the years had taken their toll on them both. Of all the things on Zhong's conscience - homicide, genocide, betraying the royal family - this was one of the ones that weighed down on him the most.

Zhong snarled and slammed his paw down on the living room table, breaking it in half in front of everyone present. Whether he did to this to scare them or he just needed to punch something, they weren't sure.

He forced his glare away from Koran, to the gray wolf's amusement, and turned towards the rest of the crowd. "I'm going for a walk", he snapped, daring anyone to object to his decision. No one did (they weren't that crazy) so he opened the front door and (as aggressively as possible) stormed out of the cabin.

He was still fuming, and that's why he needed to get away. If so much as one person questioned him again he wouldn't be able to stop himself from doing what Koran wanted and starting a fight.

Unfortunately he wasn't even a few feet away when he heard footsteps behind him and knew someone was following him. It could only be two people. The only two crazy enough to follow him when he was in a mood like this. The only two who cared enough to. The only two he had trusted enough to confide in these last few months.

Jing and Tai put their paws on his shoulders, and the boss wolf angrily shook them off. "Go back", he ordered. Of course they ignored him, because the words of the alpha seemed to mean nothing today.

"Zhong we know you were just trying to do the right thing", Tai said sympathetically.

"It's pretty admirable", Jing added, beaming at him and hoping his kind words would lift the man's mood. No such luck.

Zhong, still not turning around to look at them, shook his head. "It's too little too late", he replied, before he started walking up a very large incline leading into the forest; leaving his lieutenants to try to return order to their dysfunctional family. The guys would just have to start building without their alpha's guidance today.

The pack was no longer content with a life of secrecy. They had given it a try and rejected it. They were still deadest on conquering the world – and it broke their commander's heart.

**((()-()))**

"And you thought we would get lost", Po said smugly, grinning at his simian teammate.

"Alright Po, I admit it. You know what you're doing", Monkey said, patting the panda's back (to his satisfaction).

The Dragon Warrior and his companions were only an hour away from Gongmen City. To everyone's relief Po could not only read the map he bought but knew exactly where they needed to go, having already passed several landmarks.

"So, changed your mind about my offer yet?", Po asked, before the langur put his paw over his mouth. Po struggled with the monkey's arm until his friend shushed him and silently pointed to the right.

There was a rustling noise coming from further up the path. Someone was coming.

Po's friends wasted no time getting in their stances, and once Monkey moved his hand off his mouth Po did the same. They could be preparing to fight one of the bandits they were looking for; or a traveling stranger like them. Either way they couldn't take any chances.

Whoever it was didn't seem to notice them. He stepped out from behind a few trees and walked across the forest path, right in front of them. He was either distracted or not very observant.

They waited for him to make his move, for the man to see them out of the corner of his eye and turn to face them. They didn't have to wait long; the creature they now recognized as a canine's ears twitched and he finally jerked his head around to look at them.

In that one millisecond, Po's heart stopped beating, and from the way the lupine looked his did as well, as the two old rivals recognized each other.

Lord Shen's second-in-command. The one-eyed wolf he fought. The one who died – blown up with the rest of his men during the explosion at Gongmen Wharf. He should have been nothing but bones, lying at the bottom of the bay. But here he was, staring Po right in the face with that single red eye of his.

It was impossible for him to be here. But Po knew he wasn't imagining it. His eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

The Wolf Boss wasn't dead. Some part of him had known that ever since they returned to the area – when they heard him howling the night before. It wasn't the cry of ghost, it was proof that someone (and Po had no idea how) had actually survived the war. How ironic was it that that person would be his mortal enemy?

Was he the reason fate brought Po back to Gongmen?

It was incredible how many questions rushed through the panda's head in the space of just three seconds. And that's exactly how long he, his friends, and his adversary stayed still, eye-balling each other in disbelief, before the Five unfroze and lunged at the canine – shooting through the air with blinding speed.

Po realized, a bit late, that no matter how shocking all this was they still had a job to do – taking the wolf down. By the time he ran to his friends' side, Tigress had already tackled the wolf while he was guard was down, pinning him to the grass.

He writhed under her vice grip, but couldn't break free because as Tigress held him in place Mantis zipped around his large frame, striking pressure points all over his body and paralyzing the dog where he laid. They didn't want to give the deadly warrior any chance to attack. And in no time at all he was defenseless.

Po, speechless, moved cautiously forward and bent down on his knees so he could get a closer look at him. The boss wolf didn't look like he had aged a day since they last saw him – to say he survived a massacre.

Still having control over one part of his body, the wild dog turned his head around and glared at the bear.

"You're alive", Po finally managed to say, barely louder than a whisper.

It shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone that Zhong's reply was to shoot a curse at the Dragon Warrior.

"Po, get some rope!", Tigress shouted.

It took Po, who was still a little out of it, a second to reach into his backpack and comply to his teammate's request – handing her a bundle of rope he had packed for the trip. You never knew when you might need some handy rope; for situations just like this.

Zhong snarled but couldn't do anything to stop Tigress as she tied his wrists together as tightly as she could. She quickly did the same for his legs. She would have got his whole body but there wasn't nearly enough rope for that.

Po shook his head, trying to get over the fact he was looking at a dead man, and put on his best angry face. "What are you doing here wolf…bandit…guy?", the bear demanded, stumbling awkwardly over the brute's name. All the times they fought and he never learned the guy's name. He doubted he even had one.

"Zhong", was the canine's quick, snarky reply.

Mantis snorted, knowing what 'Zhong' translated to. "_Loyalty_? You really earned that name didn't you?", the bug said bitterly.

Zhong scowled at him, but something else about his expression changed. Like what Mantis said had actually stung for half a second before he retaliated with another dirty look. Odd.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this. After all you wolves never do know when to quit", Po mused, finally normal enough to start making snappy comments again.

"Neither do you. You refused to die", Zhong shot back, referring of course to the bear's many miraculous returns from the dead.

"I'm the Dragon Warrior; the Dragon Warrior never gives up", Po replied confidently.

"Well that's real modest", the wolf said sarcastically.

Monkey leaned over and whispered into Po's ear. "He's kinda right, you do have a hero complex", he said informatively, making his black and white friend frown.

"Enough playing around. If you're here that means your pack is well. You must be the ones we're looking for", Tigress reasoned.

"What are you talking about?", the wolf asked her, looking at the striped master like she was speaking Greek.

"We came here searching for bandits who've been stealing priceless relics all over China. But I don't need to explain myself to you. You know all about those crimes since you and your men are the ones committing them. You're the Yan-Li", the feline growled, growing impatient.

"Why would my pack want to steal some dusty old relics?", the lupine countered, in the same smartass tone he always used to annoy people.

"Oh and I suppose it's just a coincidence we find the leader of a fugitive gang hiding out in the exact same city as another one?", Crane retorted, seizing his chance to be the sarcastic one for once.

"I don't know anything about the robberies you're talking about. The only thing my men and I have been doing is trying to survive", Zhong argued, getting Po's attention.

Either Zhong was a real good liar or he really was confused by what they were telling him. His frustration seemed authentic. Not to mention the fact he was actually trying to argue his case to them, instead of just being a pain in the butt for the sake of being a pain. The question was, was he doing it being he was tied up or because he was really innocent?

Po couldn't believe he was actually considering the idea this Zhong guy could ever be innocent of anything.

"We have no reason to believe anything you say. You're a thief and murderer", Tigress said coldly, standing up and staring down at the motionless canine.

"I'm telling you, we're not the ones you're looking for. There's only a few us of left now, we couldn't pull off heists like that", the canine reasoned. Now he was trying to use logic and reason to help him. And here Po thought the wolf was only capable of using his fists to settle things.

"Do you think he's lying?", Monkey asked the striped feline.

Tigress looked back at him. "Maybe… maybe not. It doesn't matter either way", she replied. She turned towards Po. "Po I want you to stay here and watch him. We'll follow his trail and track the rest of his pack", she ordered.

"NO!", Zhong shouted suddenly, trashing and writhing on the ground. The effects of Mantis' paralysis were starting to wear off, but the rope still managed to hold him in place. "You can't!", he snarled.

"And why not?", Viper asked, eyebrows raised.

"If you try to take my men by his force they won't go down without a fight. They've already been slaves, they'd rather die before they lose their freedom again", the wolf explained before a shadow cast under his eye(s). "And believe me, if a fight starts there will be causalities on _both_ sides", he added darkly.

"Well what do you suggest we do then? Let you and your guys go free?", Mantis snapped.

Zhong's angry expression softened and the wolf retreated into his mind for a few seconds before he spoke up again. "Let me go back and I can talk them into coming in peacefully", he said.

The lupine's request was met only by laughter, as most of the Furious Five dealt him one great big (metaphorical) slap to the face.

"I'm their leader, they'll listen to me!", he insisted, starting to get desperate.

"You have to be out of your mind if you think we're going to do that. We're not stupid", Tigress said coldly.

"Yeah, we take you back there and you'll tell them to _attack us_", Monkey added.

"I wouldn't do that!", Zhong snapped.

After letting his friends ask most of the questions, Po finally decided to add his own two cents. "How do we know you're really doing this to help your pack? From what we've seen so far all you care about is yourself", the bear told him, making a good point. He wasn't prepared for Zhong making an even better one.

"You're wrong", the lupine growled. "I care about my brothers. I cared so much I took a knife in the chest for them. And right now I'm willing to give myself and them up to the enemy if it means keeping them from getting themselves killed – if you'll let me!", he roared.

Tigress, Mantis, Monkey, Crane, and Viper's expressions softened, if only just a little – changing from skepticism to thoughtfulness; while Po's was that of sympathy.

He could tell by that look in his eye and that fiery determination in his voice that the Wolf Boss wasn't lying. He was pretty much baring his soul to them and being 100% honest for what was probably the first time in years.

The big guy had a heart – for his men anyway. And Po couldn't ignore it.

"Alright", the panda decided, ignoring the almost instantaneous outcry from his teammates. After all, he was about to drop an even bigger bombshell on them. "I'll take you back… by myself", the bear added.

He saw Zhong's one eye widen in shock; just like the bear's friends he obviously hadn't been expecting that. Today was just full of surprises.

Mantis hopped on Po's shoulder and grabbed his cheekbones, shaking his head as roughly as he could. "Are you out of your mind?!", he demanded, before Po swatted him off.

Tigress walked to his side. "You know he's just gonna double-cross, why would you want to do something so foolish?", she questioned.

"Because he's right Ti. If we go in there looking for a fight then one's gonna happen and a lot more people are gonna die. I don't know about you but I can't have a slaughter on my conscience, even if they are the bad guys", Po said, using Tigress' best weapon again her – logic.

He saw Crane raise his wing to argue with him some more and the panda quickly cut him off. "Besides, if he is telling the truth about everything and his guys aren't _our_ guys then we still have a job to do, and not a lot of time to do it. If we all go running into the woods and forget about our mission then we might lose the real thieves and miss our best chance to get 'em", the bear said; piling reason on top of reason.

He then glanced back at Tigress, who looked really conflicted; torn between agreeing with him and slapping him in the face. He knew her well enough to know she was trying to guess what brought all this on; and he had to admit, his request _was_ random. "Ti, I can't explain it, but I feel like I should be the one accompanying him back wherever he came from. I feel like this is something I _have_ to do", he said, filling in the blanks.

Tigress' eyes grew slightly, like his words had triggered something in her mind, and she looked away from him, glaring at the lupine lying in the grass. She didn't like the idea of Po walking into the lion's den with him without any kind of backup. The whole idea was crazy.

Po stepped in front of her, making her look at him instead of Zhong. "You're my best friend. Our entire team is built on trust, it's why we work so well together; now I need you trust me. Can you do that for me?", he requested.

A moment of silence passed, filled with thick tension between all seven animals present, before…

Tigress sighed, blowing hot air out of her nostrils. "What do you want us to do?", she asked, making her teammates' mouths (and beaks) fall to the ground. She was really going to let Po do this?! When they were about to start arguing with her she raised the back of her hand to them, wordlessly telling them the discussion was over and she had made her final decision.

Po smiled and secretly sighed too (but unlike Tigress out of relief). He knew if he could count on anyone on the team to trust his judgment, it'd be her. "I need you and the others to keep going into town and follow the plan we made. I'll let wolf guy guide me back to his camp", the panda explained, handing her the map to the city.

"And what will you do when you get there?", Tigress asked skeptically.

"I'll wing it, like I usually do", he said coolly. When he saw the frown on her face, like she was already second-guessing her decision, he quickly added "You heard what he said, there are only a few of his pack left. And I think I can handle a few wolves".

"Po you better know what you're doing, for your own sake", Tigress warned him, understated fear and concern laced in with her unusual sternness.

"Don't worry, I'm one hundred percent certain things will turn out just fine", he said. He then glanced back at the lupine who was all but gagged on the ground, leering at him. "Well, ninety-five percent", he decided.

As usual, Po only told his friends part of his real motives. He wanted to help Zhong keep his men from getting hurt, but he also wanted to learn more about the canine. He just found out Zhong had survived the war (and apparently took a knife to the chest). He had so many questions.

Also, Zhong intrigued him. He seemed like the wolf Po fought three months ago, but there were subtle differences in the way he acted now compared to the way he was then. Barely even noticeable, unless you knew what to look for. The old war dog was an enigma to the panda, and he wanted some alone time with him to try and figure him out.

After all, there was still the chance _he_ was Po's unfinished business.


	6. Chapter 6: Finding Inner Peace?

**_Chapter 6: Finding Inner Peace?_**

Zhong grumbled; his arms kept rubbing together, getting hot and prickly from all the friction - since they were _still tied_. But at least that bug's nerve attack had worn off and the panda had untied his legs. After all, he needed them if he was gonna walk Po back to his camp.

As they trekked through the Gongmen forest, Po was right behind the gray wolf, watching him closely. He had insisted on Zhong going in front of him, since he didn't trust the canine to move around behind his back. Though right now he seemed slightly distracted, looking away from Zhong and then looking back every three seconds; like he had something on his mind.

Something just didn't make sense to the bear. Zhong and his packmates were masters of stealth, experts on banditing. Why would their leader just walk right in front of them, completely oblivious, and then let himself be captured so easily? Yeah sure, he had been paralyzed from the neck down, but Po would have expected the cocky war dog to at least call his buddies for help with another howl of his.

Howl.

The bear turned his attention back to the one-eyed canine. "Hey wolf", he spoke up.

"Zhong", the lupine replied, obviously pissed that Po still wouldn't use his real name.

Po ignored him. "I heard you howling last night. Why? You didn't know we were close by", the panda asked him suspiciously.

Zhong paused and allowed the panda to catch up to him before he gave him an answer. "Frustration", was his simple reply. He started walking again, observing the confused look on Po's face as the bear strode alongside him. He figured he oughta shed some more light on the subject before Po asked him anymore questions.

"A howl can be many things panda. A cry to war, a way of blowing off steam, a mourning of the dead, a song to one's loved one, or a song for any occasion", the canine replied matter-of-factly, in a surprisingly deep fashion.

Po stared at him, wide-eyed, for a few seconds before the Dragon Warrior shook his head and put on his best 'brave hero' voice again. "Yeah well, just don't try to howl for any help before we reach the camp. And keep staying close to me", he ordered.

Po watched the wolf besides him scowl, getting fed up by how commanding his captor was being. "You know _Dragon Warrior_ I could escape anytime I wanted to, and you couldn't stop me", he informed him, still in a matter-of-factly sort of tone.

"No way, your hands are tied", Po countered, brushing off the lupine's ludicrous thought.

"_Were_ tied", Zhong corrected him, before the wolf turned on his heels and shoved Po right in the chest, knocking the big bear down to the ground. The reason he stopped and let Po catch up to him earlier was so the panda wouldn't notice him use his claws to cut through the ropes that bound him. He may not have been the youngest wolf in the army, but he was still a pretty crafty one.

Po leapt to his feet almost immediately and slipped his best kung fu stance, bracing himself for the enemy's next move. But the only thing Zhong did next was stand in the exact same spot, eyebrows raised at him.

Po, confused, slowly lowered his guard. "You…you're not gonna try to escape or anything?", he asked.

"No", Zhong said flatly, before he started walking again, with a dumbstruck Po right behind him.

"Why not?", the bear demanded, running in front of him. It was a stupid question really, and he was definitely looking a gift horse in the mouth, but Zhong's actions right now were _completely_ out of character for him.

"For the same reason I agreed to this in the first place. There'd be no point in running away or hiding, you and your friends would just track me down", Zhong replied; a thoughtful answer that actually made sense. "I untied myself to prove a point. And because those ropes were so goddamn itchy", he added, frowning.

He gave Po a few seconds to mull on that, smirking. He knew he wasn't acting the way a bad guy was supposed to act. He was making the panda hopelessly confused, and he was enjoying every minute of it. "Oh, and you really need to work on your kung fu. It shouldn't have been that easy for me to take a 'master' down. Which means…you've been getting sloppier since the last time we fought panda", he deducted, rubbing the fur under his muzzle.

Po froze. The wolf boss knew about his slump. He'd deduced all that just from the way he reacted to a sneak attack. The bear's first instinct was to defend himself. "Since when did you know so much about kung fu?", he asked sarcastically. Yeah his retort was childish, but it was the best comeback he could think of on the fly.

"I learned a few moves in school. I never used them; I always thought fists worked better than fancy stuff, so I got rusty. But I've had plenty of time to practice lately", the wolf replied. He didn't even make a snarky comment back at the bear.

There was no way this was the same boss wolf. He might have looked like him, but it couldn't be the same guy. The burly henchdog that raided the Valley of Peace was a tough-talking, overly-aggressive thug. This 'Zhong' actually seemed to be pretty wise, and _wasn't_ trying his best to start a fight with him.

"Watch out for that root", the canine said suddenly, snapping Po out of his thoughts; but was a fraction of a second too late.

Po was so busy thinking he didn't notice the large tree root ahead of him until he tripped over it, landing face-first in dirt.

**((()-()))**

"Tigress, why would you let Po do that?! Just because he says he can handle something doesn't mean he actually can!", Monkey asked his teammate, alarmed.

He and the rest of the Furious Five had been bothering Master Tigress about her decision the entire walk to Gongmen City. They refused to drop it, even now as they were leaving the forest and coming up on the outskirts of town.

Crane nodded his head, agreeing with his simian buddy. "We should go back", he suggested nervously.

"No. We leave Po to his mission and carry out our own", she shot him down quickly. Her friends looked at her like she had gone crazy. She cleared her throat and slipped back into her usual, reserved tone.

"Normally I wouldn't let him go either, but he's the Dragon Warrior. He's saved all of China, _twice_. If Po really thinks he needs to handle this alone, I say we trust him and let him do his thing", she reasoned.

Her friends grumbled for a few minutes, but they quieted down eventually, knowing she made a good point.

What they didn't know was that this was one of those rare times Tigress wasn't completely honest with them. She did trust Po to be able to handle the situation by himself, or at least get out alive if he couldn't. But the main reason she let him go was because the bear told her he felt like this was something he needed to do alone.

She still hadn't forgotten the conversation they had right before they left the Valley of Peace. If facing Zhong and his wolf bandits really was the kind of closure Po needed to get his sense of inner peace back, she wasn't going to deny him that.

**((()-()))**

"**_Amy's Theme_**" by Murray Gold begins.

Po brushed the dirt and grass off his shorts, all too aware of how Zhong was laughing at him the whole time. This was just embarrassing.

When he was done having fun at the panda's expense, the wolf seriously commented "You should have seen that coming, something must really be wrong with you".

"Or maybe I'm just clumsy", the panda lied. He didn't want anyone he was having problems being spiritually centered, especially not Zhong. "Why is it any of your business?", he inquired, picking up where he left off and continuing down the forest path.

Zhong shrugged, walking behind the bear. "It's not, but if I was the Dragon Warrior I'd certainly want to get to the root of the problem", he said, smirking again when he realized he had unintentionally said the word 'root'.

"From what I've heard you've already mastered inner peace; apparently you've lost that mastery", the wolf deduced, and Po closed his eyes, groaning.

Damn it. Why did he even bother trying to keep secrets from people?

"Shouldn't you be getting in touch with nature? Feeling the ground beneath your toes, the air around your head, tranquil stuff like that?", the lupine asked, half-sarcastic and yet half-sincere at the same time, for whatever reason.

But before Po could ask _him_ any personal questions the wolf suddenly saw something ahead of them and ran towards it, with his 'captor' not far behind. Po didn't want to let the canine out of his sight as they ran up the side of a very large incline.

When they reached the top Po had his hands on his hips, out of breath, while Zhong had a huge grin on his face. "Speaking of nature, we're here", he told the bear.

Po wiped the sweat off his brow and looked up to see just where 'here' was, letting out a small 'whoa' when realized what Zhong was looking at.

The wolves' camp; hidden behind the hill they just climbed. On the other side were six cabins; five of them finished and the last one a work in progress. Beyond that was a large range of snow-capped mountains (also hiding the wolves' homes from being seen from a distance); the sun was just climbing beyond their peaks and shedding light on the wooden structures below. It was a pretty sight, no doubt about it.

Po hadn't been expecting this. He thought the bad guys' lair would be all dark and depressing, but the field they had taken residence in was actually…beautiful.

"Welcome to the Gongmen forests. Before we were servants these woods were my kind's ancestral home. Now they are again", Zhong said proudly, while Po stood next to him with his mouth agape.

His eyes roamed all over the place before resting on the sixth cabin - the one still being built by Zhong's pack. The wolves were right in the middle of putting up the fourth wall, and there were at least thirty of them helping with the difficult task.

Thirty wolves.

Po turned to glare at the one-eyed commander, fury in his eyes. "You lied to me. You said there were only a few of you left", he accused.

Zhong was quick to defend himself. "There are. Less than three dozen isn't exactly a legion compared to what our numbers used to be", the canine reasoned.

Po stared at him, stammering incredulously, before he lost it. "That's not what I meant!", the bear snapped, making his prisoner flinch. He hadn't been expecting an outburst like that out of the usually cool and collected hero; after all, temper tantrums were his thing.

But Po had a good reason for being ticked off. If he went down there, telling all those soldiers to turn themselves in, by himself, he wouldn't just get his butt kicked - he'd be ripped to shreds.

"God, I can't believe I was _stupid_ enough to trust you! I walked right into your trap, just like my friends said I would", Po groaned, scrunching up his face with his paw.

To his surprise Zhong actually grabbed him by the arm. "For the last time panda, this isn't a trap. Come with me", he ordered, before turning and walking down the side of the hill, away from the camp.

Po hesitated, looking at Zhong and then at the wolves standing not fifty feet below him. Trusting the wild dog was what got him into this mess in the first place, but it wasn't like he had any other way of getting out of it. So against his better judgment he ran after the canine.

And just in the nick of time too. Koran, who had been helping his brothers hammer a few nails into the wall, thought he saw something moving amongst the trees. But when he looked up and squinted his eyes to focus in on the hill, he saw nothing.

He didn't see Po or Zhong sneaking around the side and coming up from the back, hiding in one of the cabins – Zhong's – and locking the door behind them. They were safe, for now.


	7. Chapter 7: Broken Dreams, Broken Trust

_**Chapter 7: Broken Dreams, Broken Trust.**_

Zhong scanned the surrounding field through the hatch on his front door. "I don't think anyone saw us", he told the bear next to him.

Po breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against one of the cabin walls. That was a close one. The bear straightened his stance and awkwardly cleared his throat; it was time for him to swallow his pride. "Err…thanks Zhong", he said.

"Oh, so we're on a first name basis now, are we?", the canine asked sarcastically. "You're welcome Po", he rolled his eyes, before turning and walking towards a staircase divided what Po assumed was the living room and the dining room.

It was the first time he'd used the panda's real name. If the wild dog was still holding some of grudge against Po for their thirty-year rivalry he sure was doing a good job of hiding it. Because Po, despite himself, still felt like he could trust him.

When they reach the topped of the stairs, Zhong opened the door to one of the bedrooms – his bedroom – and beckoned for Po to follow him inside.

He could see the furniture inside was pretty simplistic – a classic bed, table, and chair combo. The wall had a giant (obviously makeshift) window that Zhong added his first few days living there (after deciding that the room needed more light in it).

"So, any questions?", he asked the bear, after Po was done looking around.

"Plenty", Po quickly replied. "Do you hate me?", he inquired.

Zhong figured that would be his first one. He could easily have asked Po the same question. But instead the lupine decided to give him his most honest answer, not even having to think about it before replying. "No", he responded, sitting down on his bed.

"Why not? We're supposed to be enemies, and stuff like that", Po questioned, sitting down next to him on the wolf's chair.

"We _were_ enemies, during the war. You were in my way and it was my job to get rid of you. But the war's over now, and I have different priorities. I don't like you but I don't hate you, and I'm willing to put up with you if necessary", Zhong replied, folding his arms.

"Hmm", Po mused. Zhong's answer definitely made sense, and considering he was dealing with an apparently smarter Wolf Boss than the one he was used to he was willing to buy the man putting personal grudges aside in favor of more important things.

"Alright, here's another one. Why are you living in the woods? Shouldn't you have moved on to someplace else by now if you're all hiding out?", the panda inquired.

"I thought the best way to avoid being caught was to hide somewhere so close to home it's in the royal guard's blind spot", Zhong explained, letting his arms fall to his side. "Besides, for the first few days my men couldn't leave here even if they wanted to, not with a wounded commander", he added. Po watched as he picked up a bottle of wine lying on the table and poured some into a little glass, gulping down it's contents in almost no time at all.

"One last thing I want to know. How can you be here, and how did you get a knife in your chest?", Po asked, recounting the canine's nasty words to him and his teammates from before.

Zhong's expression grew dark and the one-eyed canid placed the now-empty glass back on the table and refilled it. "Lord Shen betrayed us. He wanted me to fire on you but I refused. It would have caused the death of my pack, and I wouldn't sacrifice for them for anything, no matter how great the cause", he replied, before taking another big swig of wine.

"So that knife in your chest…", Po said slowly, numbed horror setting in.

"He put it there. I almost bled to death for god knows how long before I was found", Zhong confirmed, those shadows bordering his eyes again. To say he was recounting what was possibly the worst day of his existence, he didn't seem too uncomfortable doing so. Which meant (1) he had either come to terms with the bad turn of events (2) he was the biggest hardass alive, or (3) the reason he was drinking so many shots was so not to focus too much on the memories. Heck, he even reached over and grabbed the whole bottle when he was tired of refilling the glass over and over again.

That certainly cleared up some things about the boss wolf's integrity that Po had been thinking about. "So you do care about your men", he stated, leaning back into his chair.

"Everything I've done I've done for them", Zhong replied, splashing the remainder of wine around in the bottle as he tipped it from side to side.

"Including betraying the royal family?", Po asked him; not accusingly or self-righteously, but genuinely curious.

"Lord Shen promised us a new world order. How I could resist?", Zhong said bluntly, but the bitter way he said it, almost regretful, juxtaposed the indifferent words themselves.

"But you were a royal guard. I know your pack meant a lot to you, but your job was to protect innocent people, not oppress them. How could you ignore your duty and go along with something like that?", Po asked in disbelief.

A warrior like him, flawed but pure of heart, could never understand why some people were motivated to commit such horrible deeds as murder. That was why the wolf boss perplexed him so much; he was looking a good man gone bad. Real bad.

"I wasn't exactly thinking straight when I took Shen up on his offer. I haven't been for a long time now", Zhong said gruffly.

"What does that mean?", Po asked.

"It means war changes a person panda. It sure changed me", Zhong said quietly, resting the bottle on the table.

He placed his paws on his knees and looked the Dragon Warrior square in the eye, about to tell him something that would change the panda's _naïve_ world view forever. "It's different for you. Any battle you and your pals fight is done and over with in a couple of days. Ours were smaller but lasted longer, sometimes much longer, and the casualties were great on both sides. At first you're horrified by it, but then you start to realize you love every minute of it", he started.

"It doesn't happen to everyone, but most, like me, get addicted to the adrenaline rush of combat. Not even a pacifist is immune to it. That tingly feeling you get when your force an enemy into submission. When people run and hide from you. When you take someone's life with your own two paws", Zhong described, painting a very _vivid_ mental picture inside Po's head of what the lupine's youthful days were like.

The one-eyed wolf shuddered; but whether it was out of horror or some guilty pleasure he still got out of the memories the panda wasn't sure, and he really didn't want to know. "It only lasts a moment, but it makes you feel good. _Powerful_…and all power corrupts. You're always gonna want more of it", he explained.

"_**This Is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home**_" by Murray Gold begins.

"I helped Lord Shen because I was tired of being tied down by the royal guard. He promised us we'd all finally become something in the world; feared and respected by all. I never thought twice about doing his dirty work, even if it went against everything I was taught as a pup", he admitted.

"All those lives we took were just casualties of a war. Random strangers we didn't give a damn about. That's how I justified what we did the night we attacked your village panda, and everything we'd do for the next thirty years", he said, grimacing out of the obvious disgust he felt towards himself. Po on the other hand, didn't know whether to be horrified or sympathetic towards the old pooch for letting himself stray so far from the right path.

"By the time we stormed Gongmen City, our own hometown, we were completely power mad. Any kind of humanity or decency we used to have was long gone, lost with our honor and out cause", he said guiltily.

"I won't try to justify what I did panda; I've stopped taking the coward's way out. But I will tell you this…when you've been to war as long as I have, everything human about you is stripped away one by one, until there's nothing left", Zhong confided in him, and it wasn't until the wolf paused that Po realized he was holding his breath. He'd been hanging onto everything the lupine had been saying for the last few minutes.

"But it wasn't always like that", Zhong added quietly. He got to his feet and strode towards the window, with Po right behind him. He wanted to keep seeing the canine's expressions up close instead of looking at the back of his head as he told him the next part of his story.

Zhong rested his elbows on the windowsill and gazed down at the field below them.

"When I was a cub I grew up in the golden age of Gongmen City. It wasn't in ruins like it is now. It was beautiful. And the villagers weren't afraid to let us walk among them as equals; they had no reason to. We were the good guys then – guardians of the royal family and all they ruled over", Zhong mused wistfully.

"My brothers and I couldn't wait to take the sacred oath of our people and become a part of all that. It's what we were born for", he continued, waving his paws in the air. "Nowadays people always see wolves as ruthless killing machines, and I'll admit I had a hand in creating that image, but they forget we can be so much more than that. We don't just take life, we protect it", he said insightfully.

"Protecting freedom and protecting life. Before I lost my mind it's what I stood for. It's what I stand for again now. And hopefully what the others will too someday", Zhong said thoughtfully, like Po wasn't in the room and the canine was talking only to himself.

To remind him he was still present (and feeling out of the loop) Po cocked his head to the side, and in reply Zhong simply pointed down. Po looked at the floor and saw nothing. When he looked up again he was met with a frown on Zhong's face and realized the wolf was actually pointing at the window. The panda glanced out the hole in the wall and followed Zhong's gaze.

Below them, thirty wolves ran through the field's green grass. They didn't notice the bear or their one-eyed leader watching them from up above because they were all carrying load after load of timber on their backs, working as one to speed up construction.

"Your pack", Po said comprehensively.

"They think my only interest at heart is their survival. But they're wrong", Zhong informed him.

Po turned towards the lupine. "What have you been doing here these past three months? Besides building stuff I mean", he inquired.

"More than practicing kung fu", Zhong said, almost jokingly, before he got serious and dropped a massive bombshell on the Dragon Warrior. "I've been atoning", he added, watching Po's jade green eyes go wide in surprise.

"I've been keeping them away from that all too tempting thought of reinvading the city, and teaching them to be self-sufficient again instead of relying on the nearest warlord or helpless villager to take care of them", he elaborated. "And all the hard work _has_ made them honest…er", he added, a little grin on the edge of his lips.

"I've tried to make the best of things and use our isolation as a chance to restore their sense of honor and morality, like it did for me; so that someday the next generation can continue the dream we lost sight of", he told Po, and the panda had no doubt he was telling the truth – not the least from the proud way he spoke.

But that tiny sliver of hopeful optimism Zhong was showing didn't last long. His expression slowly fell and the canine backed away from the window, plopping down on his bed again. Not wanting to risk being seen by the wolves outside, Po did the same and sat down next to him.

"But like I said, thirty years at war changes a person, and you can't just go back to the way you used to be overnight. If you can even go back at all", he said. "Lately they've been losing their trust in me. More and more each day", he added bleakly. Knowing Po wouldn't understand he kept going.

"They're afraid, because for the first time they don't have someone telling them what their future's gonna be like. And when soldiers are afraid they mutiny. If that happens I won't be able to control them anymore, and god knows what they'll do then", he explained.

"I want to believe there's a chance I can still change things, but maybe we _are_ too far gone. Maybe there's no turning back from what we've done to ourselves", he said gravely now, voice lowering and even wavering a little as the gaps between words grew longer. "Maybe there's no hope", he said, and Po suspected he was speaking more to himself again. "Maybe…", Zhong trailed off, letting his mouth hang open for a few seconds as he searched for words, before he closed it and rubbed his paws down his face.

Po never thought he'd see the day, but the boss wolf was obviously trying to stop himself from shedding a tear. From suffering the humiliation of a former foe seeing him cry. Everything (well almost everything) made sense now. "Is that why you cooperated so easily when we captured you?", he asked the wolf.

"Yeah", Zhong sighed, letting his paws slide down his face. "I won't have any more of my men die. But if it _is_ too late for us, I'd rather we be locked up than kill someone else ourselves and start the cycle all over again. Renegade or not I'm still a royal guard, and protecting the people is, and always should be, my main priority", Zhong explained tiredly.

"Wow, that's really…noble", Po replied, struggling to try and take in everything he had just learned. He certainly got those answers he had been _begging_ for.

To his surprise Zhong, after being so cool and calm the past few minutes, suddenly scowled at him. "There's nothing noble about it. I'm just trying to clean up the mess _I_ made", he snapped, almost growling. Po flinched and the wolf sighed again, reigning in his temper.

"So when are you actually going to start arresting people?", he asked, more calmly this time. "If I'm going to betray them and lose their last shred of their respect for me, I'd like to get it over with as soon as possible", he said impatiently.

"Well, I can't arrest thirty wolves by myself. I need my friends", Po reasoned. "_They'll never let me hear the end of this flub-up_", he thought in the back of his mind, picturing the smug look on Monkey's face when he told the simian about how he bit off more than he could chew.

"But they're in the city", Zhong reminded him, frowning.

"Then I'll just have to sneak out and go find them", Po decided.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you. We got lucky the first time, with the pack running around outside they'll spot for you for sure and you'll have a fight on your hands whether you want one or not", Zhong warned him, resting his paws on his knees again. "If you want to find your friends you'll have to wait until they leave to go hunting", Zhong said.

"And when's that?", Po asked.

The boss wolf got up to look out the window. "Judging by where the sun is now, I'd have to say…two hours", the one-eyed canine replied. They had a lot of time to kill.

_**Author's Note:**_

When I wrote "_**Salvation, Part 3**_" I said the trickiest part was that all the great Balto stories had already been written, and by much greater writers than me. It's the same thing here. Because Wolf Boss is a fan favorite there's over three dozen fics about him. I know that might not sound like a big number (compared to the _huge_ number of Po and Tigress fics), but it is since most of them are variations on the 'bad guy finds redemption' genre (a favorite of mine). So from beginning to end I had to try and keep this fic from being too similar to what's already been written. The first chapter alone begins the way most Wolf Boss fics do, with his death.

And since this is a story about Boss Wolf _and_ his pack (most guys just let his men stay dead so they can write Boss Wolf solo, myself included), I also had to worry about it being too similar to Kirscher's tale of redemption in "_**Strength in Unity**_"; which is why Zhong and Kirscher have different goals. While Kirscher's main priority is the freedom and survival of his pack (at all costs), Zhong wonders if there's any point to them being free if they have to keep living the way they do. So Hidden Stranger, if you ever read this AN, I'm not trying to rip off your story. It's just really hard to write a fic like this and not come close to ripping it off.


	8. Chapter 8: Reconnaissance

_**Chapter 8: Reconnaissance.**_

If there was one thing Po hated it was being patient. Patience was evil. Patience was his mortal enemy.

He had been sitting inside this cabin for at least an hour now, watching the sun's rays crawl across the floorboard as the ultraviolet star _slowly_ moved overhead. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, which was like three hours ago, so naturally his stomach was rumbling; but he couldn't do anything to satisfy it because if he went downstairs he might be discovered.

Zhong's bedroom, despite being worked on recently, was plain and boring so the panda found himself lying on his back on the wolf's bed.

Still if all this was a tough time for him he couldn't imagine what Zhong was thinking. He was going to turn in his own men, who he treated like family, and to make things worse he actually had to wait to do it, allowing the guilt even more time to eat him up.

He had finally run out of wine about fifteen minutes ago (Po was surprised it had actually lasted that long) so now the wolf was hunched over his bedside table, writing something down on a scroll he kept hidden in one of the drawers.

Po slid off the side of the bed and glanced over Zhong's shoulder. "Whatcha writing?", he asked.

Zhong frowned and didn't turn around; he answered the panda but kept on writing. "The final entry of my log", he replied.

"You have a log?", Po said, surprised.

"Of course. Every senior officer has a log, how else are they going to keep records of their men's progress?", Zhong asked sarcastically, knowing perfectly well Po wouldn't know anything about logs or any of a commander's responsibilities.

Po, ignoring the cynicism, caught eye of another scroll lying next to the first one. "Is that another entry?", he inquired, reaching towards it.

"No", Zhong said quickly, snatching up the parchment before Po could get to it. "It's private. It's where I write my thoughts", the wolf explained to the confused panda.

"So it's a journal", Po surmised.

"Yes…sort of", Zhong said irritably, slipping the paper into his pocket. Or at least he thought he did. The paper slipped out and before he could reach down to get it Po had already grabbed it with a warrior's speed and precision. The bear just couldn't resist. After all learning more about the Wolf Boss was why he volunteered to come along in the first place, and this scroll was his thoughts written down on paper.

"Panda", Zhong growled, trying to seize the paper back from him, but Po was too quick. The panda backed away and unwrapped the scroll as quickly as he could. By the time Zhong got out of his chair to stop him a half a second later he was already too late.

"What you wrote rhymes… Almost like poetry", Po observed, before Zhong practically wrenched the paper out of his paws and re-rolled it. Po ignored the heated glare the wolf was giving him as the bear's mind raced, working on overdrive. "No wait, it's not poetry…it was like a song", he realized and Zhong groaned, slipping the scroll back into the drawer.

"_You_ wrote a song? Oh my god…can you sing?", the panda asked him, rushing to Zhong's side.

"What?", the lupine asked incredulously.

"I just found out at least three at my friends can sing and didn't tell me. Can you?", Po inquired excitedly.

"No", Zhong scowled. He wasn't lying. His men informed of that one year when they all drank a little too much to celebrate a particularly successful raid.

"Then why are you writing a song?", Po asked curiously.

"Because it's a hobby Po. And it's been my hobby since I was a kid", Zhong snapped, exasperated.

"You have a hobby?", Po repeated, eyebrows raised.

"Yes", Zhong said in a clipped tone. "Does that surprise you?", he asked dryly, already knowing the answer.

"Kind of. I mean I never pictured you as the kind of guy who had hobbies. Sometimes I forget you and your guys were just regular guys before you became… guards", Po said clumsily.

Zhong sighed before nodding, feeling just as uncomfortable as the bear, before he sat down again and resumed writing.

A light bulb went off in Po's head. "You told me what's on that scroll is your thoughts. What I read, is all that really what you've been thinking these past three months?", Po said, finally getting it.

"Every word", Zhong replied, slightly distracted as he wrote a few more concluding paragraphs into his log.

"Well, it's a really good song", Po informed him.

Zhong paused. He had never had anyone compliment him on his 'hobby' before, he had never shown anyone besides his best friend…and well, they stopped being that a long time ago. He certainly hadn't been expecting it from Po, and to be honest he didn't really know what to make of it. He cleared his throat. "Uh…yeah, thanks", he said awkwardly before he started writing again.

"Can I see it again?", Po asked. Oh so he decided to ask this time.

Zhong paused. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have even considered it since it would mean someone a part of himself he had tried to ignore for decades, but Po had already read the scroll (without his approval) and gotten a nice good look at that part of him - and didn't mock him for it like some of his packmates would have. Oh what the hell.

Zhong handed the panda the paper and, after unwrapping it again, Po's eyes scanned it from top to bottom, not having to speed-read it this time. "It's missing something", he observed.

Zhong frowned and looked behind him, resting his arm on the back of the chair. "Missing what?", he asked, less annoyed, more bemused.

"I don't know", Po shrugged, reading the lupine's handprint again as he inattentively walked around the room.

"Well then how do you know something's missing?", Zhong asked with pretend curiosity.

"It just feels incomplete. Like it's missing the most important part to make it catchy", Po replied, waving his paws through the air for effect.

"It doesn't need to be 'catchy', I'm the only one who's ever gonna read it", Zhong retorted. "_Or at least I thought I'd be_", he frowned mentally.

Po, reluctantly agreeing with him, handed the wolf the scroll back, satisfied. "You know Zhong for a war criminal you're really not what I was expecting. You're actually the kind of guy I'd be friends with if things…were…different", Po said, his smile vanishing off his face and his voice trailing off into nothingness as he realized his innocent little statement, one he said with the best of intentions, had easily been a step too far. He'd reminded the lupine of their unfortunate but unavoidable predicament, and just like that things were morbid again.

Zhong didn't answer him. Without making eye contact the wolf boss accepted the scroll, put it back in it's proper place and finished his journal entry. The awkward silence between the pair had returned, and this time it was here to stay.

**((()-()))**

Gongmen City was a metropolis; truly an ideal place to live. The only place that could even rival it's beauty was the Valley of Peace. But like the Valley of Peace, and every other home for living creatures, Gongmen City had a dark side. A shady area that few animals dared to tread unless they could handle themselves well; let alone the farmers and shopkeepers who made up most of Gongmen's population.

It was in this part of Gongmen you'd find the city's bar. The tavern heavy drinkers went to when they wanted something stronger than red wine. It was the perfect place to get information from loose-lipped patrons about the city's underworld. And Shifu's students knew the best time to come was during lunch hour.

Unsurprisingly bison, crocodiles, and boars made up the majority of the bar's patrons; after all they were all fairly large animals and had nothing to fear from other large animals. Surprisingly though, there were also a few ducks, geese, and rabbits in the mix. They were either really brave, really stupid, or really in need of a drink. Either way they seemed to be paying the larger animals little to no attention as they got more and more relaxed.

One patron was neither large nor small, short or tall, fat or skinny. He wore a long cloak, hiding his face and most of his body, and only spoke in short bursts whenever he wanted the bartender to fill up his glass (which contents he would throw over his shoulder as soon as nobody was looking). He was being as careful as possible to make sure no one realized 'he' wasn't a 'he' at all, or that Master Tigress hadn't gone undercover alone.

Keeping cool and calm as cucumber, Tigress raised her refilled glass to her mouth and let the whiskey splash again her lips, pretending to drink it but being careful not to let a single drop slip through her teeth (after all, she couldn't try the over-the-shoulder trick again and risk being caught). She'd been there for at least an hour now, moving from the countertop, the tables, and the booths every once and a while, since normal patrons didn't stay in one place too long.

She was beginning to think the bartender was never going to decide when she'd had enough; since her arrival he had given her at least ten shots – all of which she had found creative ways of disposing of. She was also beginning to think this whole thing had been a waste of time and that her first hunch, about the wolf pack being their bad guys, had been correct after all.

And then she felt something crawl up her back.

Followed by another something.

Viper and Mantis had returned.

From the day they left the Valley the masters of the Jade Palace knew it would be next to impossible for them to go undercover. Like Ox and Croc they were too recognizable for any disguise besides a shift stone to help them. Except for their two smallest members – their masters of stealth. The advantages of being short and bendy included being able to hide under tables, barstools and countertops like very few could, and eavesdrop on the most private of conversations.

The snake, hidden by Tigress' hood, moved to the feline's left ear while the bug moved to her right.

"See those guys over there?", the serpent asked as lowly as she could.

Tigress looked around the room. She quickly found the trio of crocodiles Viper was talking about – they were pretty hard to miss.

"They're working with the bandits", Viper explained.

"It's always the same old story. No matter how secretive these gangs are, the petty crooks they hire as muscle aren't. We heard one of them of talking about how worried he is that their bosses are hanging around Gongmen too long and that Ox and Croc know they're here; or at least he was before one of his pals shut him up", Mantis informed.

So Po _was_ right. The wolves were only one of their problems. Tigress didn't know whether to be relieved or worried even more.

"It doesn't make sense. If the Yan-Li know Croc and Ox are onto them, why are still here? Why haven't they left the city yet?", she scowled, speaking more to herself than her friends.

"Maybe because they can't?", Viper guessed.

"Either way we've just found out first and only lead. I say we follow them and question them", Mantis suggested.

Tigress thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Give this message to Crane", she requested.

**((()-()))**

No one noticed Mantis slip out the back entrance of the bar, running right between a patron's legs as he showed himself out. He waited until the goat was long gone before he headed over towards a rather suspicious-looking stack of crates that was keeping the other two members of the Furious Five from being seen.

Since they couldn't disguise themselves like Tigress, Crane and Monkey had to wait outside, and passed the time by making (non-too interesting) small talk. The pair watched curiously as their miniscule friend joined them.

"Crane, Tigress wants you to find Po. A fight's probably gonna start soon and we'll need all our numbers. Besides, she wants to make sure he's still alive", the bug informed, being bluntly honest as usual.

Crane stood up from the crouching position he'd been forced into for the past hour and stretched his wings. "I'll be back as soon I can. Po should be done with this wolf business by now", Crane said. And with a few flaps of his wings the bird was off, soaring high above the skyline and leaving his friends alone for the time being to make their next move, two men shy.

**((()-()))**

"I don't see anyone", Po said, looking down.

"I don't smell them either", Zhong added, sniffing the air as he observed the sun's slightly off-center position in the sky.

Both animals backed out of the canine's bedroom window. "It's gotta be 1:00, and they won't be back until sunset. Plenty of time for you to get the others", Zhong informed.

"So this is it then", Po said awkwardly, paws on his hips. "The next time we see each other, you'll be in chains", he said, letting his eyes wander across the room.

Zhong knew of course that Po was doing that because he couldn't look him in the eye. He doubted the panda had ever been in a situation as uncomfortable as this before. But he wasn't the only one who couldn't bring themselves to make eye contact.

"Po, before you leave… there's something I need to tell you", the one-eyed wolf said hesitantly, not allowing himself a glimpse of Po's jade green orbs so the bear wouldn't see the regret in his own.

Po sucked in his breath. He had a feeling what this was about. He had been stuck in the same room as Zhong for hours now, so he had had plenty of time to wonder about a confrontation like this happening; as well as how it would end.

But it wasn't meant to be. Fate intervened.

"Po!", someone honked.

Both Po and Zhong were surprised when the panda's winged comrade flew in through the window, landing in front of them.

"Crane? What are you doing here?", Po asked, confused.

"Hey, if anyone should be asking questions it should be me. Why the forest is crawling with wolves? I had to wait forever for them to leave", the bird shot back, glowering at the lupine next to Po.

The Dragon Warrior knew what his friend had to be thinking, the same conclusion he had jumped to so quickly when he came to the wolves' camp. He had to set him straight quick before some kind of fight started.

"Relax Crane. It's just a misunderstanding. I still have everything under control", Po said reassuringly.

"It doesn't look like it", the bird replied, eyes still narrowed.

"There's been a _slight_ change in plan, but Zhong's still helping us. I was just on my way to find you when you found me", the panda explained. "And you still haven't answered my question", he added quickly, hoping to change the subject.

Crane finally tore his gaze away from the wolf boss to look at Po, deciding to trust his friend's judgment again like Tigress had asked him to; for the time being anyway. "Tigress sent me. We've got our first lead on where the gang might be hiding and she wants all of us together in case something goes wrong", the bird explained.

"Sweet", Po said, pounding his fist into his palm like he was actually hoping something would go wrong. It had been a long time since he had fought any bad guys, Zhong not included, and he was looking forward to seeing some action. "Alright, let's fly", he said, walking towards the window.

"Wait, what about him?", Crane asked, pointing his wing towards the wolf who had remained stoically silent behind them since the bird arrived.

"Oh, he's staying here. We'll apprehend him and his gang when we get back", Po replied casually, as he climbed onto the windowsill.

"And you actually trust him to still be here _when_ we get back?", Crane asked incredulously.

"I know he will. I've spent some time with him, and I can tell he's a man of his word", Po replied, in a decisive tone that let his friend know that was the last he was going to say on the matter. And when he said this, Crane could have sworn he saw (out of the corner of his eye) the tiniest hint of a smile creep onto Zhong's face, at the sight of how much the panda trusted him. Crane just couldn't be sure this was a good thing.

"Don't go anywhere", he warned the lupine, and the wolf boss smirked.

"I won't… stork", he replied.

If he was trying to piss him off, it didn't work. The avian just rolled his eyes and flapped his wings. He had a smirk of his own on his face when the wolf behind him took a step back. Zhong's bedroom wasn't that big and Crane's wingspan easy covered most of its width.

When he was airborne (albeit a lot of room to move around) he grabbed Po's shoulders.

"Whoa, whoa, Crane wait a minute!", Po exclaimed, to the bird's surprise; he stopped what he was doing. The panda looked back at Zhong. "Didn't you want to talk to me about something?", he reminded the lupine.

Po thought he saw Zhong flinch for just a second before the war dog shook his head. "It was nothing important", he said indifferently. But he couldn't fool Po.

"Well…okay", the panda said, ears flattening in disappointment. He sighed a little under his breath as he resigned to the fact he was back to square one again.

Crane started to flap his wings again and before long he and Po were floating a few inches above the floor (they couldn't go any higher without hitting ceiling). Determined to get out of the cramped space as quickly as possible, Crane flew out of the window; lifting Po above the cabin, the field and the tree line, before flying away over the forest.

Once they were gone, Zhong slumped back in his chair. There was nothing left for him to do now but wait. More accursed waiting. Except this time he was left all to himself, and his thoughts. The absolute last thing he wanted. While the Dragon Warrior, who he envied right now, was off with his friends to knock some random dudes' heads.

For a moment he wondered if he should have went with them; it was better than just sitting around and feeling guilty, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

They wouldn't want his help. He had just barely been able to convince them to talk to him, let alone let a dangerous criminal tag along on their stealth mission. Even if he could teach this younger generation a thing or two about stealth.

Besides they were headed into the city, a place filled with people who didn't like him.

People who were innocent bystanders in all this hero/villain stuff.

People who would probably get caught right in the middle if a fight did start between the masters and the gang they were looking for.

People who it was once his duty to protect from getting hurt.

People who it was still his duty to protect.

That was all the excuse he needed to rise out of his chair and move towards the window.

But before he could vault over the windowsill he paused and looked behind him. The wolf padded towards his bed, got down on his knees, and reached his long, furry arm in the crawlspace between the mattress and the floor.

Once he had grasped the handle of what he was looking for, the canine extracted his war hammer from where he had hid it three months before. Despite the fact it bore the mark of Lord Shen he hadn't been able to bring himself to burn it like his armor. Now he was almost glad he hadn't. He probably wouldn't need it to bash someone's skull into a bloody pulp (now that his sanity had returned to him, he had made an effort to learn restraint), but it never hurt to come prepared.

A second later the wolf boss jumped down from his second story window, landing sprightly on the grass, before he ran off into the woods, on the trail of the Dragon Warrior. He was going to help Po and the Five whether they wanted him to or not. It was his last chance to be on the right side again, if just for a little while, before he spent a lifetime in prison.


	9. Chapter 9: Complications

_**Chapter 9: Complications**__**.**_

As soon as the crocs left the bar, Tigress put down her drink, paid the bartender the rather large sum she owed, and bid him a quiet good day before walking after her quarry. It wasn't long before the gang members left Gongmen's shady area and made their way through the farmer's market, a section of the city filled with so many people it would be more than easy to lose unwanted company in the mid-afternoon crowds. She made sure she kept her distance, not wanting to tip them off, but kept her eyes and ears open the whole time. The same went for her teammates, who remained concealed beneath her cloak.

She had no idea where Monkey was, but figured the simian had to be close by, and was still waiting for Crane to return with Po. She'd feel a whole lot more comfortable about taking on this gang when they were all together again, and also when the wolves were behind bars.

Tigress, realizing she had let her mind wander (something that was very uncharacteristic of her), refocused on the men in front her, who she figured had to have noticed they were being followed by now. Even so, she was caught off guard when they suddenly broke into a run, pushing several villagers out of their way.

The striped master, not knowing what else to do, followed their lead and tailed the men, making sure she kept her eyes fixed on them as they put more and more distance between her and them. There were just so many people around, making it impossible for her to break out into full sprint. Just what she was afraid of.

So this was one of those times she was glad she had partners.

"Mantis! Viper!", she said urgently. She had the choice of keeping their identities secret and letting their only lead get away, or actually catching the bad guys. She knew the time for keeping in the shadows was over.

Mantis hopped out of her sleeve, and Viper crawled out of her pants leg a second later. The insect bypassed the masses by jumping from one villager's head to the next, while Viper slithered around or in-between their legs. The crooks had a good ten yards on them, and they wouldn't let their lead extend any further.

Tigress heard a hooting noise behind her, and before she knew it Monkey was running alongside her. "Sorry Tigress, they ran because they saw me tailing them", the langur explained.

"It doesn't matter", Tigress replied. The gap between her and the suspects was now down to just five yards, but she wouldn't be satisfied until it was zero. Which is why she was glad when something suddenly blocked out the sun, and that something turned out to be her other teammate Crane, dragging his half-ton friend behind him.

Crane set the bear down next to Tigress, and he hit the ground running, flashing a grin at the feline. "So I guess we're not being conspicuous anymore?", he asked, well aware of how more and more people were beginning to take notice of the chase going on right in the middle of their town.

"Nope", Tigress replied, before jerking her head to the right. "Crane!", she ordered, and the avian nodded, knowing what she wanted him to do. He flew ahead of them, and tackled one of the crocs from behind, putting an end to his run. Just as he threw the bird off him, two more kung fu masters were all over the runner. Viper and Monkey were going to make sure he didn't have a chance to rejoin his buddies.

Po shot only a fleeting glance at the scene unfolding, knowing his pals could handle it, before he, Tigress, and Mantis passed it by, determined to capture and question all _three_ crocodiles.

Luckily for them, the reptile's pals had been rattled by their partner's takedown, and that short second they stopped running to look behind them reduced the gap between them and the masters to a mere three yards now. So close and yet still so far.

Po had to admit, for petty thieves these guys ran like professional sprinters. Which was more than what he could say for himself. The panda was starting to feel tired already, and he had only just joined in. Then again he supposed his inability to keep up with his comrades could be chalked up to him having problems finding his center; something _everyone_ seemed to want to comment on.

Like Tigress the bear was rapidly getting wrapped up in his thoughts and wasn't paying one hundred percent attention on what was going on around him; which was why, like her, he was caught off guard when something really unexpected happened. The fleeing men suddenly stopped, and their pursuers had to slam on their breaks to avoid hitting into them.

Looking straight ahead in confusion, they quickly realized why the men had stopped. A large gray wolf was blocking their path.

"I thought you might need my help", the lupine grinned, though he was really only paying half attention to the masters. Unlike the Furious Five, the shock was already starting to wear off the goons he had intercepted, and pretty soon they would make their move.

"Zhong?", Po asked, stunned.

"_You_", Tigress leered, eyes narrowing, as she realized the canine Po had supposedly 'handled' had just joined in the fray. What she couldn't figure out was why he claimed he wanted to help them. What was he playing at?

"You can't be here", Po stammered in denial, nervously glancing at his friends as they all shot him dark looks from the corners of their eyes.

"I am here, deal with it", was all Zhong had to say in reply. Again he was only half-interested in the bear and his friends as he was too busy trying to keep the crocs from escaping. One of the reptiles kept moving from side to side, trying to find a way around the wolf, but he always got in his way, like a goalie protecting a hockey net. The other one kept his eye on Po and the remainder of the Five.

The tense stand-off lasted a few more seconds before someone finally got tired of waiting. The bigger of the two crocs charged at Zhong, and the wolf was more than ready for him. Around the same time his partner lunged at Po, and three masters of kung fu met the thug head-on, while confused and pumped-up bystanders watched the street fight from the safety of their homes.

One of these bystanders was the she-wolf Shu. When she opened her pottery shop that morning she never expected to see a public brawl happen just outside her store (well she supposed it was happening outside a lot of people's stores), and against her better judgment she left the protection of her shop to get a closer look.

She didn't feel quite so insane when she realized she wasn't the only one being stupid and reckless. Several other Gongmenites who had already been on the streets weren't seeking shelter at all, but remained where they were, shifting into one big circle as they watched something that was apparently so amazing it was worth risking their lives to see.

Shu finally got it when she reached the outer ring of the circle and saw who the fighters were. The legendary Dragon Warrior and his partners in crime the Furious Five were beating up some random lowlifes. The first question that came to her mind was why they were in Gongmen City again; were they on another mission?

But that thought was eclipsed entirely when she realized they weren't fighting the ruffians alone. They had some help from a certain Good Samaritan. Her one-eyed rescuer.

**((()-()))**

Po had to admit, Zhong had some moves. It was easier for him to say that now Zhong was fighting on their side. He had no idea why the wolf had felt compelled to follow him and lend a hand, but he wasn't going to argue with him about it (at the moment).

Sure Zhong was working out-of-sync with the panda and the Furious Five, but whenever one of the Five went down the wolf was always a few feet away, ready to attack the enemy and keep them from advancing. He was defending them.

That's what Po believed anyway.

Tigress meanwhile had her hands full. She had to try to fight off a rogue croc by herself (Mantis and Po were still recovering from the punishment they'd received from croc number two), while simultaneously decoding the wolf boss' ulterior motives for his new altruistic streak in her head. So far she was coming up with nothing.

Tigress dodged a punch, which gave her opponent opportunity to kick her in the legs and throw her off balance. She still caught herself before she hit the ground however.

Meanwhile Zhong had picked up right where she left off. He ran towards the croc, forcing him to back up several feet, before kicking him in the stomach. The lowlife groaned, and brought his claws down to his stomach for a second, giving Zhong a chance to punch him in the jaw. He never thought the croc would still be standing when he was done – and pissed off. The reptile raised one of his legs and Zhong jumped up, not wanting to be tripped like Tigress was; but to his surprise the croc's leg kept going until it collided with his midsection. A low blow.

As much as he didn't regret burning his old armor, it would have protected him from ruthless attacks like that one.

The wolf fell back down to earth, wincing and struggling to stand upright because of the pain. He was helpless to defend himself as the croc hit him with all his energy.

Tigress, Po, and Monkey raced towards him, before they were all struck down by a wolf who had been sent flying.

Zhong wiped blood off his lip and glared at the croc who was now laughing at him. "You're gonna pay for that", he promised, before he was tossed to the right by Tigress, pushing him off her and her friends.

As she got back on her feet and Monkey raced towards the suspected criminal, Tigress decided to put all else aside and finally get some answers. She was tired of being kept in the dark. "Why are you here? I thought you agreed to be imprisoned", she demanded.

Zhong smirked. "Hasn't Po told you yet? There's been a change of plan", he replied.

Tigress glared at the Dragon Warrior next to her "What change?", she asked.

"Nothing major. Things are still under control. They're just a bit more…complicated", Po insisted, quick to defend himself.

Then things got even more complicated.

The third crocodile arrived, followed by Viper, Monkey, and Crane. Before they could stop him he had joined his comrades, and they stood three-strong again.

Monkey stopped next to Po, and panted. "He got away from us", he explained, while the reptiles sneered at them.

"Their bosses must have taught them some of what they knew, because these guys are way better than your average croc bandits", Viper panted.

"We can take them. Seven on three", Zhong growled, undeterred. He didn't miss the incredulous look Tigress gave him when he spoke up, but he ignored it. He didn't come to be grilled, he came to get in on the beatdown.

"Eight's better than seven", Shu interrupted, appearing out of nowhere as she strode across the street and joined their numbers, much to the surprise of the Five and the villagers.

The crocs however were neither intrigued or impressed by the newcomer, waiting impatiently for the masters to make their move and get the fight started again.

"You again?", Zhong said, recognizing the female as she stopped next to him.

"You shouldn't be here civilian. You could get hurt", Po reasoned.

"It's okay Dragon Warrior. I can help", Shu replied, unworried. She knew a thing or two about the martial arts herself.

Before Po could argue some more one of the crocs ran towards them, ending the momentary ceasefire, and the masters (plus the wolves) scattered. The rest followed his lead, and the good guys split into groups of three to handle the trio. Po, Tigress, and Monkey handled croc number one, Monkey, Viper, and Crane took care of croc number two, and Zhong and Shu were all over croc number three – the most short-tempered one.

He had been a formidable opponent before, but he was fighting two wolves now; two targets punching and kicking him whenever his counterattacks would miss them by a hair. And his impatience was quickly becoming his own worst enemy. He was getting easier and easier to avoid as his anger got the better of him and made him sloppy.

In fact, the pair of lupines were confident enough, or cocky enough, to take a page from Po's book and juggle fighting with conversation. "I asked around. After you saved me I asked my neighbors if they'd seen any one-eyed wolves and they told me they'd only ever seen one. I know who you are, Zhong Yu", Shu informed her sparring partner, as she ducked one of the croc's punches.

Zhong was more intrigued than worried by the fact she knew his identity. "You do? Then why are you helping me?", he asked, blocking one of his opponent's punches.

"Because I want to know why you're here and why _you_ helped me", Shu replied.

"Ah, then you're the second woman to want that from me today", Zhong mused, finally growing tired of playing with the croc and putting an end to their three-way 'dance' by giving him a fierce uppercut. The reptile landed on his back on the street, and before he could get up again Zhong delivered a knock-out blow. He was lucky. A year ago the one-eyed general would have done far worse to him.

One croc down, two to go.

Once he was sure the man was out cold, the wolf looked around him to check on the others.

Tigress was right. The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five worked the best when they were all together. They were no longer outnumbered, and they had the advantage now.

Crane picked up one croc (who looked to be the youngest and probably the most inexperienced of the trio), dropped him from at least ten feet, and let him fall back down to earth with a loud thud. The crowd of onlookers winced as the big crocodile hit the street.

When he tried to get back on his feet, Viper took this rare chance to wrap herself around the reptile's torso, holding him still just long enough for Mantis to latch onto him and finish him off with his paralyzing touch. A moment later she had no reason to try to restrain him anymore. He couldn't move even if he wanted to.

Two crocs down, one to go.

But the third croc, the oldest, was by far the hardest to beat. Even with Po, Tigress, and Monkey fighting him all at once, the thirty-something crocodile managed to keep all three at bay and even got the upper hand on them sometimes. When he saw the rest of their friends (plus Zhong and Shu) running towards them to help out, he decided he didn't like the new odds and took out all three masters at once.

He grabbed Monkey's tail and (using the simian's body like a pair of nun chucks) slung him back at Po and Tigress. Once he had knocked them down he let the langur fly out of his paws to land somewhere he didn't care about. By the time they all got back up, with the rest of the Five to their backs, the croc had already fled into the crowd (of really annoying villagers) again, leaving his buddies behind to be busted.

With one of gesture of her hand, Tigress' pals were right on her heels as the feline followed the croc's trail. Two of the Five, Mantis and Viper, stayed behind to make sure the other two didn't come to.

Shu, not wanting to be left out, was prepared to try her best to keep up with the speedy masters when she realized they were missing someone. She looked back to see Zhong running in the _opposite_ direction. She was torn for a second, having to decide whether or not to follow the action, before she ran after the reason she joined the fight in the first place.

She caught up with him by the time he reached the end of the street. "What are you doing? That guy's getting away!", she demanded.

"I know what street that guy's on; I know every street in this city. Since I know where he's heading, I know how to cut him off", the lupine explained, before he suddenly leapt into the air and landed on someone's low-lying roof.

His back turned to the female, Zhong bent over and retrieved what he had hidden on top of the hut upon his arrival, just in case he needed it later. "But first… a little pick-me up", the wolf grinned, cradling the war hammer (he had just known would come in handy) in his paws.

"Uh, what are we looking at?", Shu asked, trying to look over his sides from down below.

**((()-()))**

At this point croc number three wasn't even trying to bob or weave through the crowd anymore. He pushed and threw Gongmenites out of his way so he wouldn't have to slow down; he even stepped on a few of the smaller ones.

He knew he was going to get away. Po and the Furious Five were too far behind him, too bogged down by the people he cared so little about himself; all he had to do was keep going a little while longer and he'd lose them. His bosses wouldn't be pleased that two of his gang had been kidnapped, but the croc figured that wasn't his problem.

He never saw the hammer coming, but he felt it slam into his face. Along with most of the bones in his snout nearly breaking, and teeth being knocked out of his jaws (they'd grow back in a few weeks). The reptilian never expected to be ambushed twice in the same day by the same wolf, but he was.

Zhong and Shu, using the shortcut Zhong talked about, had the element of surprise on their side and they used it wisely.

The crocodile groaned and grunted as he tried to bounce back from the _painful_ sneak attack, but Zhong was too quick. He knew the bruiser was too strong for him to overpower when his guard was up, so the wolf boss decided to take him down as quickly as he could while his window of opportunity was still open.

The croc was already suffering from a mammoth headache, then Zhong punched him in the gut. Then he was struck across the face by the wolf's lady friend Shu, impressing the fugitive once again with her ability to keep up with the big boys. While she did that Zhong ran around the reptile's back and sized his tail.

Before he knew what was happening the crocodile was lifted into the air and spun around Zhong's head, the exact same thing he'd done to Monkey minutes earlier – before Zhong let him go. He collided with someone's fruit cart with a loud crash, and then a brick wall, before the gang member finally succumbed to his concussion and passed out on the ground.

"We did it", Shu said, grinning.

"We? I did most of the work", Zhong argued to the village girl. When she glared at him he raised his paws in mock surrender to let her know he was messing with her. "Touchy. You did a good job", he said, resting his paw on the she-wolf's shoulder.

Po, Tigress, Monkey, and Crane arrived seconds later (the crowd of onlookers right behind them despite their orders not to follow them) to find their suspect unconscious and Zhong and Shu carefully inspecting him.

Po was the first to realize what happened. "Dude, you did this? That… is… so… awesome!", Po grinned, impressed.

"Hey I helped", Shu pouted.

Tigress ignored her teammate's fawning over a criminal, and focused all her attention on the crocodile lying at their feet. She grabbed the hoodlum by his shoulders and pulled him to his feet.

Po looked around them, eyeing the crowds watching them from both sides of the street; too far to hear what they were saying, but watching their every move nonetheless. "The whole city's gotta know we're here by now. And the royal guard's gonna come investigate soon", the panda said nervously.

"If they're not on their way right now", Crane added, just as worried.

"So if these guys aren't really our guys, and we did all that sneaky subterfuge stuff for nothing, then the bad guys _will_ get away and we'll be screwed", Po warned his comrade.

"These are our guys Po, I'm sure of it. And it's only a matter of time til they wake up and tell us what we want to know", the feline said reassuringly, leering at the reptilian she held in her grip.

"But we can't just interrogate them in the middle of the street", Monkey reasoned.

It seemed the day was full of surprises for Shifu's students, because it turned out to be Zhong who provided a solution. "You'd better regroup at my place and do your little interrogation there", the lupine pitched in, unafraid to put his suggestions forward.

Like he had expected everyone turned their heads to look at him in surprise, which meant they either still hadn't grasped the fact he was trying to help him or they still didn't believe it. Either way he didn't care about their suspicions, it was a good idea (better than anything they had in mind), and the panda knew it.

"That could work", he told the wolf gratefully, who only shrugged, as usual, in reply. Po looked back at his friends. "I know you're all confused right now, but if you come with us back to Zhong's I promise I'll explain everything on the way", the bear swore.

Naturally, Tigress, Crane, and Monkey mulled it over for a few seconds, even wearier to trust Po's word this time, before nodding their heads and mumbling a few words of agreement. Tigress tossed the croc over her shoulder and turned in the direction they came, wanting to regroup with Viper and Mantis and get the other two crocs secured.

When Po and the others padded after her, Shu reminded them all of her presence by speaking up. "Wait, I'm coming too", she called after them. There was no way she was going to miss out on Po and Zhong's long overdue explanation.

Monkey glanced at the approaching female. "No way", the simian said dismissively.

When Shu ignored the langur Po stepped in her way. "You've been a lot of help… uh…", he stumbled awkwardly, when he realized he still had no idea who she was. Only Zhong had been hanging around Gongmen long enough to know her name.

"Shu", she frowned.

"Shu. You've been a lot of help, but we can't let you get any more involved. This is dangerous business we're doing, and we can't put any innocent bystanders at risk, no matter how capable they are of protecting themselves", Po said, actually sounding like a professional instead of an overexcited fanboy.

"You're gonna let me come with you, or…", Shu insisted stubbornly.

"Or what?", Monkey asked bemusedly, calling what he presumed to be an empty bluff.

"Or I'll tell everyone in Gongmen you're working with a dictator's lieutenant", she said, folding her arms.

And just like that, everything changed. They all tensed at once. Shu smiled, having succeeded in getting them to take her seriously.

Zhong had to admit, the girl had guts – blackmailing a group of kung fu warriors _and_ an infamous criminal.

"You can't do that", Po panicked.

"Why should we stop her? We're going to turn him and the others in anyway", Crane reasoned.

"Not right now!", Po retorted, as if he believed that actually cleared up anything. The panda groaned and closed his eyes. "Fine, you can come too", he decided, tuning out the frustrated complaints of his teammates that followed.

Zhong, meanwhile, felt the bear's pain. He couldn't deny he liked the girl and was definitely intrigued by her, but the last thing he wanted was to get her involved in his mess too. "_Great, _more_ complications_", he thought, grumbling like the others.


	10. Chapter 10: Loyalty

**_Chapter 10: Loyalty._**

Po kept his word. As Shifu's students left Gongmen City and returned to the forest area (bringing three prisoners with them), he explained the day's events as best as he could (resisting the urge to ramble on like he sometimes did). Just as he expected, they were not pleased.

"So let me get this straight. Now we have to bring in the Yan-Li, _and_ thirty wolves?", Monkey asked, close to losing it.

"Yeah, pretty much", Po admitted sheepishly. "But on the bright side, thirty's nothing compared to two-hundred and fifty", he added hopefully.

Shu meanwhile listened with rapt attention. From what she could piece together the masters had stumbled onto the wolves by accident like she had, and were still trying to decide what they would do with them and how they'd go about doing it.

She'd heard the stories about Po and the Furious Five, just like all the girls in her village, but she never knew their team was like this on the inside. Or that the legendary Zhong Yu acted like your regular surly grouch instead of a hardened criminal. She felt like an insider; like she was a part of something so few people ever got to see.

By the time they'd entered the wolves' camp it had to be 3:00 in the afternoon. The field was still empty, since sunset wouldn't come for another two hours (or less). So there was still time to come up with a plan.

**((()-()))**

Rao twitched. The croc bandit's head flopped from side to side as he slowly regained consciousness, and the room around him came into focus. Along with the ropes that tied him to a chair from the neck down.

He'd been captured. And he wasn't alone. His partners in crime had also been restrained by similar means.

Which meant _they_ had to be somewhere nearby. Watching him, no doubt.

"Good, you're awake", Tigress observed, appearing out of the dark in front of the bandit.

"What do you want with me?", he leered.

"You know what we want", Viper replied, slithering up to her friend, followed by Po and the rest of the Furious Five, while Zhong and Shu watched from a distance. Holding the questioning inside the living room had indeed been the right choice on Po's part, considering how much room they'd need for the interrogators and the interreges.

"Where are your bosses?", Monkey demanded.

The crocodile didn't say a word, only glaring at the simian in silent fury.

Mantis scowled and jumped onto the croc's snout – Rao didn't even flinch as Mantis held his deadly feelers right in front of his eyes. "He said, where are your bosses? You know who we're talking about; don't make us have to force it out of you", Mantis growled, losing his patience with the captive.

The reptile raised his eyebrow, unimpressed, before he shook his head and threw the insect off his nose.

"He won't talk", Crane said to his teammate Tigress, frustrated. Most petty thieves would have spilled their guts by now.

Tired of watching the masters get nowhere fast, Zhong decided to stop being a witness and put his opinion forward again. Shu watched curiously as the one-eyed commander spoke up.

"Of course he won't talk, he's too loyal. Whoever he works for they've obviously been in business together for a long time. You could torture him or threaten him all day til you're blue in the face and he'd still only give you the silent treatment", the wolf said, and Po couldn't help but notice he sounded like he was speaking from experience. Sure enough, his suspicions proved to be correct just a second later. "It's what I would do", Zhong added, folding his arms.

Tigress narrowed her eyes. "Well since you're apparently the expert on lowlifes, what do _you_ suggest we do?", she asked, half-sarcastic and half-serious.

"You can stop wasting your time. How about turning your attention to the youngest? The new recruit?", Zhong coolly suggested. "_The one who looks like he's about to crap himself now that he's outnumbered and his pals can't back him up anymore_", he added in his head.

Sure enough the youngest crocodile tied and bound did look a lot more nervous at the moment than he had when they were fighting; when he wasn't at the Five's mercy. Tigress could see the sweat collecting on his brow even in the dim evening sunlight. She hated to admit it, but Zhong's idea was another good one. After all he was a strategist.

Tigress looked away from the wolf and Rao (who looked like he'd gone from being pissed to furious now that Tigress had discovered his gang's weakness), and sauntered towards what Zhong had described as 'the new recruit'.

Unlike the other two crocs, who looked to be just older than Po, Kwan was still young, still unhardened by the dangerous business he worked in, still more fearful than his comrades. The twenty-two year old couldn't deny he was terrified when Tigress advanced on him, but did his best to hide it like he had that afternoon. He couldn't let her break him. Too much was at stake.

"Talk", she ordered.

"Never", he shot back.

And then she put her hands on his snout, crushing it in her vice grip.

"Okay! Okay! I'll talk", he blurted out, willing to say anything to avoid receiving another vicious beatdown like the one he suffered before.

Of course, Rao and Ling would do a lot worse to him themselves if they weren't tied up too, going by the looks of extreme rage that had twisted onto their faces the moment Kwan gave in so easily.

"The three of us were freelancers up until last year, when we started working for these bigger, badder guys as muscle", the croc explained to the feline.

Tigress had suspected as much, but her hunch hadn't come with a motive. "Why do the Yang-Li need 'muscle'?", she inquired, wondering if the reason the 'unnamed gang' was still hanging around Gongmen was because they were planning another big heist.

"To move stuff", Kwan replied, lowering his eyes to avoid making contact with Tigress (and Rao, who was still seething behind her).

"What kind of stuff?", she said, a tiny growl building in the back of her throat from impatience. She was getting tired of short answers already.

"All kinds of stuff. Old stuff. Swords, scrolls, armor – anything that might be valuable", Kwan specified.

Tigress put two and two together the exact same time as Viper. "Anything you haven't sold yet", the serpent added.

"You mean?", Mantis asked, eyes widening.

"Uh-huh. You heard what Shifu said, only a few of the stolen artifacts have been recovered over the years. I think it's because only a few of them have been sold", Viper explained.

"Anything they didn't or couldn't move on the black market they packed up and brought with them to the next town, hoping to try their luck there. That's why they've been hiring so many gangs like this one, why they haven't left Gongmen yet. Because like Viper said, they _can't_ leave. It takes a long time to move something priceless without damaging it, so they're taking the risk of getting caught because they want to stay here long enough to lighten the load _and_ make a profit", Tigress elaborated.

Zhong nearly whistled, impressed. Despite their bickering Shifu's students really did make a good team when they were in the zone solving these cases. Then again he supposed he wasn't one to talk about chaotic alliances.

Tigress turned back to Kwan. "Where are you keeping the relics?", she demanded.

"We've been hiding them in this warehouse downtown. I don't know the number, but it's near the bay", he replied anxiously, no doubt worried that if he wasn't helpful enough he'd be beat up again.

"There's no way that's a coincidence. They've gotta be planning to sail to the next town", Po mused, rubbing his chin.

"And they've gotta know we're tracking them by now. The whole city knows we're here", Monkey added anxiously.

"They won't leave without their ill-gotten gains. They haven't done it before and they won't do it now. It'll take a while to move it, even if it's already packed-up, and they can't set sail without being seen until nightfall. So that's how long we've got to stop them", Tigress declared.

At last, for the first time since they got to Gongmen, they knew where the crooks were and how long they had to find them. They had made one giant leap of progress in minutes compared to a whole day of detective work.

"Yeah, but we can't just barge in there without a plan. They've gotta have dozens of guys working for them by now", Crane said, being the voice of reason as usual compared to his more impulsive friends.

"Then we'd better start brainstorming. We don't have much time", Tigress decided, finally moving away Kwan and giving the kid room to breathe. Of course only a few seconds later Zhong walked up to him and made the croc suck in his breath. He came to give the ruffian something he seemed to be full of that day – advice.

"Get out the crime game kid, you're not cut out for it", he warned him, before leaving the confused reptilian to face the unrelenting death stares of his (no doubt former) cohorts again.

The wolf boss noticed Po and the Five had all huddled together, discussing what they should do next, but he made no effort to listen in or get involved again. He'd done his part, helped them catch the bad guys and get the information; they were all on their own now. He was more preoccupied with the rapidly descending sun than he was their mission.

Shu watched him climb the staircase to the second floor, and heard him shut his bedroom door not long after. She'd only known him for a few hours, and even she knew he had gone off to go sulk about something like he had a habit of doing. He seemed like the type who was always such a loner.

The she-wolf walked over towards the Dragon Warrior and tapped him on the shoulder, to the panda's surprise. He broke away from the group huddle to talk to her. "Oh hey Shu, what is it?", the bear replied, only paying half attention to the villager he had just met/been blackmailed by that afternoon because he was distracted by his friends, who had kept on talking even when he stopped.

"I just want to ask you something, if that's alright", the lupine requested. Po nodded, and the she-wolf worked up to say what was on her mind. "What do you know about Zhong? Personal stuff, I mean?", she requested.

**((()-()))**

As he once again crouched over his desk, Zhong stared at the words on the paper. The scroll he was reading represented everything he'd learned about himself over the past three months; everything he'd worked towards. Everything he was about to give up on. Though truthfully, he had already given up on it that morning, after his fight with Koran. His hopes were just wishful thoughts written down on paper now. He had nothing more to add to them, despite what Po had said that afternoon. At least it made a good, supposedly incomplete, song.

His ear's pricked up when he heard someone's fist collide with his wooden door a few times before it creaked open, and Shu invited herself inside his room. "Thanks for knocking", he said sarcastically.

Shu toed the floor as she walked towards him, looking unconfident for a change. "Po told me what you've been doing these past few months. I just want to thank you for helping me. I didn't get a chance to do it before", she explained.

"I should be the one thanking you for having my back today. And blackmailing me", Zhong replied bitterly, before turning his back to the she-wolf.

Shu had expected a reaction like that. Like Po that afternoon, she sat down next to him on his bed. "I wasn't really going to blab to the royal guard. A guy saves my life and I get him arrested? I don't think so. I just let you think that so you'd bring me along", she confessed.

Zhong froze. The brusque wolf turned his head to scowl at the female. "So you lied?", he asked.

"I bluffed you", Shu corrected him.

Zhong's brow furrowed further before the lupine did something else he never would have done a year ago – he brushed it off and went back to reviewing his scroll. "You're a very weird woman. You know that right?", he decided bluntly.

Shu's features relaxed and the girl cracked a smile. "This coming from the one-eyed guy who spends all his time hiding in shadows and helping innocent damsels in distress?", she countered.

Zhong grumbled but admitted "Touché" under his breath.

Shu, feeling comfortable enough to do it for the first time since she came in, looked around the bedroom, taking in it's dull walls and minimal furniture. Not to mention the messy, unmade bed. "How many women serve in your army?", she asked randomly.

"None", was Zhong's curt, uninterested reply.

"I thought this was an all-boys camp, cause it's the worst-kept one I've ever seen", she said, just as frank as Zhong had been. "And you have booze", she observed, referring to the long-empty bottle of wine on Zhong's desk.

The wolf chuckled.

He actually chuckled.

Something else besides Po's clumsiness had actually succeeded in making the war veteran laugh, non-maliciously. Something that hadn't happened in so long it was practically rare.

"You're the one who wanted to come so badly", he told the girl.

Shu had nothing more to say about that, since he was right. She'd been so fascinated by the stranger, dangerously fascinated, she actually forced him into letting her into his life. She was getting exactly what she wanted, so she had nothing to complain about.

To take her mind off the mess she focused in on the scroll Zhong was reading; one of many he'd written going by the quill and ink jar resting on his table, next to a big stack of papers. "Whatcha working on?", she inquired.

Zhong raised his eyebrow. "You mean Po didn't tell you about it?", he said, genuinely surprised that Po had kept his pastime their little secret. The look on Shu's face told him he had. "It's just something I do to stay sane", he murmured.

"Do you mind if I?-", Shu requested, holding out her opened paw.

And to Zhong's utter shock, he found he didn't mind. Maybe it was because he'd already shown the scroll's contents to Po and the panda managed to keep his big mouth zipped. Maybe it was because Shu had grown on him already and he wanted to believe she was a trustworthy girl. Or maybe because it was literally his last hour as a free man and nothing he did at the moment mattered anymore. But whatever the reason, he honestly didn't give a damn if a stranger got a nice good look at his thoughts. He put the scroll in her palm, and folded his arms as she looked it over.

"This is a song", she realized.

"Yep", Zhong replied, bored.

"A really good song", she complimented, though she was probably talking more to herself than him. She had to have realized how personal it was by then. Then she frowned slightly. "But it's missing something", she added.

Zhong was about to tell her about how she wasn't the first to think that, when Shu suddenly put the paper down on his desk and grabbed his quill from the ink jar. "And I know what it is", she decided, writing down a few choice words of her own.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?!", Zhong asked, alarmed. Just because he didn't mind Shu reading it didn't mean he wanted her drawing all over it – even if he would have to dispose of it soon. He tried to take it from her but she was too fast, moving it further out of his reach before he could snatch it up. By the time he stood up, she was all done and admired her work.

She proudly handed the parchment to the glowering lupine. "Here you go, I haven't changed a thing, but I _have_ added some improvements", she informed him.

No matter how much Zhong wished he could be mad at her for completely disrespecting something that had once been so important to him, his glare softened and eventually vanished completely when he saw just what she had actually wrote – and realized her judgment was correct.

"Well? What do you think?", she asked hopefully, like a cheery little girl eagerly awaiting a friend's commendation.

"It's…not bad", was all Zhong's pride would allow him to say. He sat back down again as Shu stared at him in disbelief.

"Not bad? My part helps it feel balanced, complete!", she argued.

"It makes it catchy?", he added, grinning and knowing she wouldn't get the joke.

As the two canines bickered (or rather Shu bickered while Zhong pretended to listen), neither of them noticed a black and white face watching them from the crack between the bedroom door and the door frame.

Shu wasn't the only one with an insatiable curiosity. From the moment Shu asked Po about Zhong, he decided to spy on the two of them. Now he almost wished he hadn't. Because what he had just seen really killed his crime-solving buzz.

That uneasy feeling that had plagued him all afternoon was back, with a vengeance. An uneasy feeling called guilt. Something the panda had a lot of experience with on days he felt like he was a making a horrible mistake. Like today.

**((()-()))**

By the time Po returned to the living room the Five were finished talking and the crocs were gone (one of them have must have taken the prisoners to another room). Apparently while Po was gone they finally agreed on a course of action, and they quickly filled the panda in on the details.

"Just one quick question, what are we gonna do about our little wolf problem?", Crane asked without hesitation. "I mean, we can't apprehend the Yan-Li and the pack at the same time", he reasoned. And the fact none of his friends answered proved he was right. They were short on time so they were going to have to put off one of their arrests, but neither one could afford to wait.

None of the Five knew what to do, not even Tigress, which it meant it was the perfect opportunity for Po to speak up. He knew his idea was a horrible, _terrible_ one, even worse than the one he'd had that morning, but he knew he had to say it. He wouldn't be able to live with himself afterwards if he didn't.

"Actually guys… I'm thinking maybe we shouldn't arrest the pack", the panda suggested quietly.

And the whole room went silent.

He had been right before. Putting in his opinion was definitely a terrible idea. But he couldn't stop himself from continuing.

"Maybe we should just leave them in peace?", he chuckled nervously.

He hated the way they all looked at him, like their Dragon Warrior had suddenly gone insane, though he had expected as much.

"Dude… are you nuts?!", Mantis demanded a second later, when he finally found his voice.

And then the rest of the Five exploded, their voices overlapping as they all shouted questions similar to Mantis' (rhetorical and literal).

Po gulped. There was no turning back now, so he might as well man up and go all the way. If they wanted to know what he was thinking, he'd let them know. "I think we should leave the wolves be. Their leader, Zhong, he's different now; he's changed. And he's trying to change them as well", he explained.

Po wasn't surprised when it was Tigress who opposed him. "Did he tell you that? Po he's been a criminal all his life, you can't trust him. He probably just wants you to feel sorry for him", she scowled.

For some reason her insulting the wolf's honesty, despite having a very good reason for doing so, didn't sit well with Po. "You didn't see how he was today; the guy was practically in tears. The kind of tears you can't fake", Po insisted, starting to get a little ticked off.

Tigress gritted her teeth. She was starting to grow aggravated, like Po was, but she knew not to let get herself too riled up. She had to keep a level head, since her friend apparently wasn't using his.

"Okay, maybe he is telling you the truth, but that doesn't change what he and his men did – they _can't_ change", she argued, in the same tone an angry mother would use to end a conversation. But Po, just as stuck in his ways as she was, still wasn't finished yet.

"I think they can", he declared, no longer afraid and refusing to budge on the matter.

And that was when comprehension dawned on his teammate.

And when she realized what was going on, she felt like such a fool for not realizing it sooner.

Po's friend stared straight at him, examining every inch of his round face, not in anger but complete disbelief.

"Po… I've trusted you and cut you so much slack all day because I thought bringing the wolf pack to justice was what you needed to put this city behind you for good. But _this_… is _this_ what you think your unfinished business is? Helping them?", she questioned him. She didn't demand an answer, she only asked for one.

Po didn't hesitate with his reply. "Yes", he said, with no uncertainty. It had taken him all day to reach this point and be this sure, but now that he had admitted it to himself he could admit it to his friends.

Tigress, stunned, shook her head very slowly. "Po… I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do for them", she said sympathetically. She wasn't angry with him anymore; now she pitied him. The only way he was going to feel inner peace again was if he did something that was impossible, even for him. He was trapped in a real lose-lose situation.

"You're wrong", Po asserted.

"No Po, she's right", someone corrected him from behind the bear, sounding as calm as Tigress.

"**_The Vampires of Venice_**" by Murray Gold begins.

Po looked over his shoulder and saw Zhong had joined them, watching from the top of the staircase with Shu by his side. They had overheard them all arguing of course (it would have been impossible not to), but Po had no idea how long the two of them had been standing there.

"None of what's happened today has changed anything", Zhong said indifferently, being a hardass again. After all, it was always best for a soldier to accept the cold hard truth than fool himself with false hope. There was no such thing as optimism in his profession.

Now it was Po's turn to look like he couldn't believe what was he hearing. He scoffed. "So you're really giving up? On your dream, on your purpose?", he probed, not buying it.

To that, Zhong had no reply. The wolf and the panda just continued to look each other in the eye, from above and below, fiery passion clashing with ice cold apathy.

Crane, who had backed up all the way into a window during the tense staring contest, waved his wings to get his friends' attention. "Uh guys, whatever you're gonna do you better do it now, because the wolves are coming back!", he shouted.

Zhong broke eye contact with Po and rushed down the staircase, with Shu right behind him, to join Shifu's students in the living room.

On the other side of the window, the sun had almost completely set, and the fading orange orb backlit thirty-some wolves descending down the incline that led to their field, and their cabins.

Naturally everything and everyone in Zhong's cabin went silent, holding their breaths as they listened to the footsteps approaching outside. The doorknob on the front door rattled, and the hinges squeaked as it was pushed open.

Only a few came inside to find their leader; the rest remained where they were, lighting a fire to cook whatever they had found in the wildness. But those few (about six or seven in total) got the shock of their life.

When they saw six kung fu masters, and a complete stranger, standing inside their living room, Po knew all hell was about to break loose.

For a second, Jing, Tai, and Xen looked like they thought they were dreaming, while Koran's first reaction was to immediately attack. And Tigress' was to defend herself. She didn't flinch as the lupine charged towards her and her comrades.

But he was met with resistance. Zhong got in his way before he even knew it. "Stop! You're not going to fight them", the one-eyed wolf commanded.

Koran's seethed at him, looking ten times angrier than Po had ever seen Tigress or Shifu. He must have already figured out what was happening long before his packmates.

"You're turning us in", he snarled.

Zhong, obviously wanting to keep as mute as he could, nodded his head.

No one saw the hit coming. No one. Koran struck so fast Po didn't even see him make his move; he only saw Zhong's head snap backwards as the subordinate wolf punched his superior in the face.

There were not words to describe how much Koran had just crossed a line. A line that was never meant to be crossed if a wolf valued his or her life.

A chill went down everyone's spine when Zhong raised a paw to his cheek, and wiped the bloody area that had been slashed by Koran's claws. They were all awaiting the wolf's cold, unrelenting retribution. Koran, beneath the unbridled rage, was probably bracing himself too for punishment, because his instincts told him to do so.

But Zhong said nothing, did nothing, and refused to show any kind of emotional response – even pain. He wasn't the same temperamental leader he used to be, and he had had all day to prepare for something like this. Po wondered if he was even angry.

There was no doubting Koran's anger though. Once his alpha didn't retaliate, the canine exploded.

"What the hell is this?! You're going to let us go to jail? You're going to let these kung _fools_ take us off to prison to rot? What kind of alpha are you?!", he shouted, saying exactly what all the men were thinking.

Not that they kept silent any longer.

Following Koran's example, they bombarded their leader with threats, demands, and even curses. It all got so loud Po couldn't tell one outburst from the other anymore, and he was kinda glad he couldn't.

The only ones who tried to remain calm like Zhong were his lieutenants Jing and Tai, the only two who actually looked saddened; like they had known that day was coming, or at least suspected it would sooner or later. The only two who actually believed Zhong when he explained to his furious pack that was he was doing _was_ for the best; just not the best for any of them.

Koran, paws curled up into fists again, gnawed his teeth together. "You've lost it Zhong. You're not fit to lead us any longer; you never were. We all would have been so much better off if we'd never met you or the _peacock prince_", he snarled.

Any fool could tell that he and Zhong had had problems long before the wolf boss' betrayal. Shu (being quiet for a change and cautious enough not to draw attention to herself) knew that everything Koran said, every callous malicious word he used to hit Zhong where it hurt the most, was very personal.

And despite Zhong's distant attitude, Koran's efforts to break through his armor finally paid off. The emotionless mask he had used on Po and the others gave way to reveal raw, genuine pain; pain Koran took immense pleasure in viewing. Knowing that his work was done (and smirking in satisfaction at what he had accomplished), he turned back to his comrades. He gave Zhong and the masters one last parting glance.

"We've leaving, you can try to stop us if you like", he challenged. Several barks, laughs, and shouts of agreement from his pals followed.

But Shifu's students remained exactly where they were, glaring at them.

Koran's taunting grin grew even wider. "That's what I thought", he said. And then he walked out the door, rejoining the rest of his pack who had no doubt been listening to the whole thing outside. His packmates were right on his heels, following him as if he was their new leader – after all, they had just renounced their old one.

Only two remained. The two who had always stuck by Zhong, and swore to keep doing so as long as they lived.

Tai and Jing watched their leader carefully; his expression had hardly changed since Koran chewed him up and spit him back out. They weren't exactly reassured when Zhong, not speaking at all, completely ignored Shu and everyone else as started walking towards the stairs.

Mantis hopped onto Tigress' shoulder. "They're probably still out there. Should we go after them?", the little bug asked.

"No, we'll get them in the morning. Right now we've got a more important job to do", she reminded him. It was apparently decided. The wolves could wait, the Yan-Li couldn't.

Tigress started to walk in the opposite direction of Zhong and beckoned for Po to follow her, who himself was still trying to come to terms with what had just happened. He did as she requested and followed her into the next room, where the Five had stashed the crocs (still tied and gagged to their respective chairs). When they left they couldn't just leave their interreges in the wolves' cabin; they needed to hand them over to the authorities like the rest of their gang.

Tigress gave each reptile a not-too-hard but not exactly soft bop on the forehead, and one-by-one their heads fell to their chests as they blacked out. Only then did the striped master untie them, and throw one over her shoulder. Po got the other two, and once again followed the feline as she rejoined her teammates in the living room. By then Zhong had disappeared up the stairs.

"Let's go", Tigress said, and her friends all nodded. They started filing out of the cabin's front door, which had conveniently been left open by Koran and the other wolves.

Po, wary, glanced back at the staircase they were leaving behind, and Shu (who like Tai and Jing had stayed where she was the whole time) did the same. The panda didn't want to go yet and leave things the way they were. And he knew Shu understood that.

After all, the she-wolf wasn't trying to follow them as they returned to her city; where all the action was about to go down. She didn't just care about satisfying her curiosity anymore. Like Po she had started to take a liking to Zhong, and didn't want to leave him alone wallowing in self-pity. But unlike Po, she didn't have a job to do.

The female mouthed something to the bear, which he understood as 'Go. I'll handle this'.

There was nothing more he could do but hope the girl was good with people like he was.

The panda nodded and ran after his friends.

As he and the Five disappeared into the darkened forest, Tai closed the door after them. Shu meanwhile took a deep breath and started walking up stairs.


	11. Chapter 11: Wolf's Code of Honor

**_Chapter 11: Wolf's Code of Honor._**

The first thing Shu noticed when she reached the top of the staircase was that the door to Zhong's bedroom was open. The second thing was that a piece of balled-up paper was lying on the floor between the door and the stairs.

Even before she picked it up and straightened it out, she knew it was the song he had written. The first thing an enraged Zhong would want to destroy. That didn't scare her though, or keep her from going inside to check on the wolf.

She wasn't surprised to see him hunched over his bedside table again; something told her he did that a lot. She also wasn't surprised when he ignored her, refusing to even turn his head to look at his uninvited guest.

She slapped the wrinkled paper down right next to him on the desk, but the lupine remained uninterested. "Who was that angry guy?", she asked. She didn't expect him to actually answer.

"Koran. We were friends when we were pups", he quietly replied.

"You two don't seem very friendly now, so what changed?", Shu noted.

The older wolf sighed. "I let him down. I let everyone down, and they've all hated my guts for years. Now they're just being honest about it", Zhong replied, closing his eyes and pinching his snout. The war vet was a little surprised himself he was telling Shu all this, but he supposed he had kept it all to himself for so long it felt good to share his shame - his issues - with someone else. Besides, he really didn't care what anybody knew about him anymore.

"So you're just going to let your pack walk out on you?", she said in disbelief.

"There's nothing I can do to stop them. They're my men, not my slaves, and the decision to leave has always been theirs", he replied dejectedly, slumping back into his chair.

"But you can talk to them, convince them to come back", she reasoned.

Zhong scowled suddenly. "How?! They've lost all their faith in me. They'll never trust me again", he demanded almost impatiently, like he was tired of her bothering him and just wanted her to leave.

Shu opened her mouth again but this time Zhong cut her off. "Listen to me. This is what's gonna happen. Right now they're packing up all their food and their clothes, and when the sun rises tomorrow morning they'll move onto a new town to start killing and pillaging again there. And the panda's friends will hunt them down and either capture them or kill them – they'll have no choice. While I'll spend the rest of my life here. It's no more than I deserve", he said harshly.

But far from discouraging Shu and getting the girl off his back, he only made her mad. It was time to do things the way Zhong would, and get aggressive. The she-wolf suddenly grabbed the back of his chair, claws sinking into wood, and spun it around (quite roughly since it wasn't one of those chairs on wheels) so they could talk face-to-face. He finally flinched when she practically exploded at him.

"Po's right. I can't believe you're just going to turn tail and back down this! You survived life as an outcast, you helped build a doomsday weapon and topple one of the most powerful cities in China. Not to mention you survived a knife being buried in your chest!", she growled, getting right in the one-eyed commander's face. And even though he knew he shouldn't have let himself be intimidated by a female, he felt the back of his head hit wood as Shu pushed him further and further into his chair.

"I might not have heard of you until now, but your badassness is so infamous, so legendary to the people of Gongmen your _name_ still scares them, even now that you're 'dead'. I for one refuse to believe that you're overrated, that you're going to quit just because your boys are a little mad at you. Shake it off soldier! Where's that never say die wolf spirit?!", she demanded, her voice rising to a brand new octave.

Zhong, still taken aback by her outburst, just stared at her for a few seconds, eyes darting all over the place as he studied her features, before the lupine scowled again. "Why do you scare so much anyway?", he asked flippantly.

Despite the attitude, Shu had to admit it was a good question. The she-wolf's glower softened. Just like how she knew when it was time to be aggressive, she also knew when to dial it down and take a few steps back. "I care because I like you Zhong, and I like your ambitions for your troops. I don't want to see you throw in the towel", she replied honestly and sympathetically.

Zhong's face softened again too, and she knew he was taking what she said into consideration. With every word she said she was getting through to him more and more. But she couldn't stop where she was. She had to make sure it sunk in. "If you won't do it for yourself, or even for them, do it for Po", she suggested.

"Po?", Zhong questioned, confused.

"You heard what Crane said. He and his pals are about to go off to a fight where they'll be way outnumbered. There's even a chance not all of them will come back, so they could use all the help they can get", she reasoned, pounding her fist into her palm.

She leaned in closer to the one-eyed canine. "From what I've heard Po's been sticking up for you all day; this is your chance to repay him. You owe him Zhong. He needs you back in the game", she said, appealing to the better nature she knew the bandit had.

Zhong was quiet again, lowering his head as probably a hundred different thoughts raced through his head at once. Shu was right of course. Could he really let yet another yet another person bite the dust because of his inaction?

When he raised his head again, his expression had changed. There was a brand new look in his red eye, one of decisiveness and determination. Like he knew what had to be done. "It's more than just me he needs. He needs the pack. And I'm going to make sure he gets it", he declared, balling his fingers into fists.

Shu stepped back as the lupine shot up out of his chair, newly invigorated. He spun around towards the door and made his first running step towards it before he abruptly stopped in his tracks. To Shu's confusion, he turned around to look at her again.

"Thank you", he said softly.

Knowing what he was thanking her for, she nodded.

The pair shared one long look, both staring each other in the eyes as if trying to see what was beyond them, before Zhong broke away – changing direction again and running out his bedroom door, towards the stairs.

Shu realized, a second late, she should probably follow him, and ran twice as fast to catch up.

Zhong still reached the bottom first, and found Tai and Jing waiting for him in the living room. They both looked surprised to see their leader come down from his bedroom so soon (having thought it'd take at least a day for him to bounce back from an argument _that_ brutal).

By the time Shu was at his back, Zhong banged his paw on the newel post to make sure he had both their attentions (he needn't have worried), before clearing his throat.

"Alright boys, listen up. There are four wolves in here, four cabins out there, and thirty in total living in this campsite. Thirty wolves who won't be here tomorrow morning unless we do something about that right now. So who wants to help me round them all up and talk some sense into the bunch?", he asked, folding his arms.

And for what seemed like the kajillionth time that day, someone looked at him like they couldn't believe what he was saying. He was really starting to get tired of that expression.

Of course Tai and Jing had a good reason for looking the way they did. The way Zhong had strode into the room, knowing what he needed to do and plainly spelling it out for all them without any uncertainty, he'd almost seemed like his old self again, instead of the guilt-ridden canine who'd kept himself mostly cooped up in his room for the past three months.

Zhong, impatient, drummed his fingers on the railing. "Well?", he asked, growing tired of silence as well.

Tai and Jing blinked, finally realizing their inaction.

"Yeah, yeah", Jing said quickly.

"Sure", Tai agreed.

"Perfect", their commander grinned, rubbing his paws together. What he was about to do next was stupid and dangerous, and there was a very good chance it'd get him killed. He'd missed doing crazy stunts like this one.

For the first time in a long, long time, Zhong Yu had again something he'd been missing since Lord Shen perished. A reason to keep fighting. To keep on keeping on like he'd always done.

**((()-()))**

Darkness settled over the forest. The moon slowly climbed it's way towards the center of the night sky. It's appearance had been blocked by the sun all day, but now that it had moved towards the western hemisphere it was the moon's time to shine.

Zhong paid no attention to it however; he was too busy surveying all the faces that surrounded him.

After feeling completely and irreversibly damned all day, for once, just once, he felt the luckiest man alive. Because if it had been just him or Shu trying to gather the others, no one would have listened; they wouldn't have paid them any attention. After all, Shu was a stranger, an outsider, and Zhong was the failure who failed them. Which was why Zhong had never been more thankful Tai and Jing were still on his side.

Their opinions didn't mean much to the other wolves, but still meant far more than Zhong and Shu's. Because unlike Zhong, they still had the respect of their brethren. Their benefit of the doubt. They were the only ones who could convince the whole pack to come out of their cabins, put off packing for just a few minutes, and convene outside to hear what their former leader had to say. The only two who could persuade them to at least hear Zhong out because they no longer had anything to lose – and it would give them a chance to chew him out some more if they wanted to.

Outside Zhong's cabin, all thirty wolves stood side by side in a circle formed around him, Shu, Tai, and Jing. They all kept their faces blank and emotionless as the one-eyed one stepped forward; except Koran who looked very bemused by the goings-ons. He couldn't deny he was curious about just what Zhong was up to, as well as how pitiful it would actually be.

Like before, Zhong kept his expression as calm and relaxed as possible as he prepared to drop a bombshell. And it was a big one. "We've all known each other for as long as any of us can remember, so you know I've never been the type to beat around the bush. I'm gonna cut to the chase right now, and tell you all that I need your help", he said casually.

And for half a second everything was quiet. Owls hooted and crickets chirped.

Before the field exploded with laughter coming from countless lupines, except the one who stood glaring at Zhong as the war dog said perhaps the most foolhardy thing he'd ever said in his life. Not that his packmates' mocking bothered him. He'd really have to be a fool not to expect a reaction like that one, and unlike their last confrontation he was not going to let anything they said or did deter him from his goal.

He repeated himself. "I need you to help me help the Dragon Warrior", he explained.

Suddenly things weren't so funny anymore – and Koran wasn't the only one glowering.

Xen, the pack physician, was the first one to speak. "You're insane", he leered.

"Why should we help that panda?", another, Lon, added.

Zhong was ready and waiting to reply. "Because he tried to help _us_", he retorted.

That got another reaction out of them. Dozens of eyebrows arched for a few short moments before the wolves' reined in their shock and resumed scowling and growling at him. He knew they had to be thinking he was lying, that he was willing to say anything to get them back on his side again, so like Shu did for him he had to keep trying harder to get them to see the truth. He came into the task knowing it wouldn't be easy.

"Before you all came bursting in looking for a fight, he tried to convince his friends to let us keep our freedom. He's come to care more about us more in day than Shen ever did in _thirty years_, and now he's about to walk right into a slaughter. He's not my enemy anymore, so I'm going to go help him, and I'm asking for your aid too, since he's not your enemy either", he reasoned.

Lon shook his head aggressively. "He kicked our asses all across Gongmen this summer. If the unbeatable Dragon Warrior and his friends could wipe the floor with us so easily, they don't need the help of us lowly thieves", he retorted in a mocking way.

Zhong Yu was disgusted. Even more so because there was once a time he was just like Lon, only a few months ago. The canine ground his teeth together. "So that's it then. The bear sticks his neck out for us and you still won't help. Why? Because you're still mad at me? Because you're holding a grudge against the panda? Because you're afraid of being captured? No! It's not any of that stuff at all!", he snapped, finally losing his patience.

He had promised himself he wouldn't let them get to him, but like Shu he knew when it was time to stop playing Mr. nice guy (it wasn't really his style anyway) and get aggressive.

"We deserved that ass-kicking Po dealt us, because the real reason you're all going to let him die tonight is because you're just selfish enough to abandon him in his time of need!", he snarled. He hadn't felt this angry about something in ages; and this time he was mad for all the right reasons.

His fury seemed to do the trick, taking a few of his packmates by surprise. After his failure at Gongmen Bay, they had begun to think of him as just a sad, pathetic old man, and his outburst reminded them all that he was no pushover and still had plenty of fire in his belly.

What he found even more interesting was that some of them were breaking eye contact; like they could no longer look him straight at the face as he spoke the truth they didn't want to hear. After all, he hadn't been the only one having to justify his actions to live with himself every day.

He'd discarded that ludicrous thought about how they were all too far gone. He just knew that like him, they still had that sense of honor buried deep down inside of them, where they'd suppressed it all those years. He was about to dig it up.

However a few of the wolves' expressions remained unchanged – one's grew even angrier and much more incredulous.

Zhong had feeling Koran couldn't hold it in any longer.

"You're one to talk to us about being selfish. _You're_ the reason we're all living this!", he barked, breaking out of the circle so he could talk to Zhong up close. "We're just thinking about what's best for the pack; what _you_ said we should do. Or have you forgotten that?!", he said accusingly.

And with that, the time to be aggressive had passed as quickly as it came. Now was the time for Zhong to regain control over his temper.

Zhong closed his eyes, inhaled, then exhaled. He was preparing to do something difficult again. What he had been putting off since his banishment. Facing up to his former friend.

"Koran. I know you hate me, and you have every reason to, but you have to listen to me", he insisted.

"Why?! You never listened to me", Koran growled. "From the day we first met Shen, when that bird started feeding us, I told you he was bad news. And when we became his soldiers I warned you he was just using our might as a means to an end, but you were so busy focusing on that new world order shit he was feeding you that you didn't listen to a word I said. Me! Your oldest _friend_!", he vented; but under his anger there was sadness. A hurt that had never been addressed; wounds that were never healed but only left to fester as they were covered up again and again in a vain attempt to pretend like they didn't exist.

Po had opened Zhong's old wounds that afternoon when he asked him why he had betrayed the crown; now he was doing the same to Koran. The only guy he knew who had bottled himself up as much as he had.

"Remember what we used to talk about in the academy? Serving and protecting? You threw all that away. You threw our dream away, you threw _me_ away, and now you need _my_ help?!", Koran said, close to his breaking point. As in close to actual tears.

Zhong's own singular eye felt damper than usual as he watched him suffer; as he allowed himself, for the first time, to see the full consequences his actions had had his old friend.

Shu, Tai, Jing, Xen, Lon, everyone; they all stopped _breathing_ as the pair of wolves laid out all their problems for the world to see. Or at least, everyone present in the meadow.

Zhong walked up to Koran, who was trying so hard to glower at him but couldn't because he was holding back salt water. The wolf with the mohawk placed his paw on his shoulder, and unlike before Koran didn't punch in the face. He didn't do anything except stare at him, waiting for his next prove.

Zhong Yu had never been good at apologies. Being the prideful war dog he was, he'd never felt the need to apologize for anything. But his pride barely existed now. He was a humbled dog. And it helped he had learned a few lessons from Po and Shu about sympathy. "Koran, I'm sorry", he said quietly. Those three words couldn't have been any more honest.

And even though Koran had every reason to think he was lying and go into denial, he knew him well enough to know his regret was genuine. It was easy to hate an uncaring friend, but not a repentant one. Especially when you couldn't deny his remorsefulness.

Koran closed his eyes and let his head fell to his chest as Zhong let go of his shoulder and backed away a few steps to give him space.

He wasn't angry anymore. He had wanted to hear those words for so long – thirty years – and now that he had he didn't feel the way he thought he would. He wasn't feeling satisfied or triumphant. He didn't know how to describe it.

"Kor, I'm trying to fix what I did. I'm trying to get the dream back", Zhong insisted, knowing his former friend was finally willing to listen.

Koran lifted his head, so Zhong could see his hopeless, defeated expression. "It's too late for that", he replied pessimistically.

Zhong shook his head. "I used to think that too until now, but it's never too late. Po reminded me that we're not just fugitives, we're royal guards. Protecting the people _is_ our duty, not hiding away in these woods", he explained, gesturing to the trees surrounding them on all sides. "Do _you_ still remember?", he inquired softly.

Apparently he did, since Koran didn't argue further. And apparently the others did as well, because when Zhong tore his gaze away from his estranged friend for the first time in minutes he realized his other comrades didn't look as angry or outraged anymore. Instead seemed to be in deep thought, conflicted. As if everything he had said to Koran was starting to sink into them as well.

Their city, the one they once tried to conquer, needed them. There was certainly going to be collateral damage in the fight between the masters and the Yan-Li. Many lives besides those of the brawlers would probably be lost. Namely the villagers; who had already suffered so much at the paws of those who neglected their jobs.

The pack's instincts of self-preservation were warring with their desire (one they could hide no longer now that the boss wolf had forced them to confront it) to accept what Zhong was offering them – a chance to regain their long lost honor.

Zhong looked back at Koran, who seemed close to making up his mind but not quite there yet. He still had something more he wanted to say. "You know that if we do this, we'll almost certainly be captured. Maybe even hanged", he rationalized, but only half-heartedly.

Zhong smiled. "It's not the life of the guard that matters, but the one he's guarding. First thing they taught us in school", he said, laughing fondly. He put his hand on Koran's shoulder again, and tiled his head to the side. "Besides, when have we ever been afraid of dying?", he asked, reminding him of all the scraps they have gotten in and out of – young and old.

The one-eyed wolf extended his paw to his fellow soldier. "So how about it? Will the wolves of Gongmen spend the rest of their lives running and hiding, or fight one last time, for their city?", he offered; and he was speaking to more than just Koran.

The soldier's decision could have went either way, and all Zhong could do was hope and believe in his oldest friend. And he did believe in him.

The other lupine may not have responded with words, but Zhong could tell, from the look in his eyes, that he had finally come to a decision.

Seconds later, he felt five furry fingers curling around his. Koran had accepted.

He'd done it. He'd done the impossible. It was almost too good to believe.

Was this how Po felt when he ended the thirty year war? Stunned? Relieved that the hardest part was over?

When Koran let go of his paw a second later, he pushed his relief to the side long enough to say a simple "Thank you".

Koran's brows knitted together, in surprise no doubt. His old playmate hadn't thanked him for _anything_ in years; the way he and Shen used to run the pack, cooperation was to be expected – _demanded_. And never thanked for.

"Thank me when the fight's over", he muttered, walking to his commander's side.

Zhong's other friends, who had stayed silent and invisible during the whole confrontation, decided it was time to hop onboard the bandwagon.

"There's no way I'm missing out", Jing said eagerly, doing as Koran did and flanking his boss.

Tai followed of course, but in a slightly more dignified walk as opposed Jing's run. "I've fought alongside you hundreds of times. I suppose one more wouldn't hurt", he said, joining Jing on Zhong's left. It was the first time he had ever heard Jing make a joke about anything. He was always so serious, even as a kid. Zhong's new mood was affecting everyone.

Unsurprisingly, the newcomer Shu was next to join them.

"I don't suppose there's any chance I can talk you out of this life-threatening conflict where you'll totally be in over your head?", Zhong asked her teasingly.

"No chance at all", she confirmed, joining Koran on his right.

Fives wolves were now in on the suicide mission, and a line was starting to form inside the circle of canines.

Zhong wasn't surprised when the sixth volunteer turned out to be Xen. The pack's doctor was many things, but he wasn't evil. He'd studied medicine (unofficially of course) so he could save lives; taking them had never been what he signed up for. As much as he wanted to be a ruthless and uncaring soul he wasn't. His heart was stronger than his cowardice.

It was the same for Lon, and Zhao, and all the other wolves who joined their ranks, one by one. The circle receded more and more by the second, while the line stretched on and on.

It finally stopped growing when the last wolf with a death wish crossed over, either giving into pack mentality or his guilt conscience, and the pack stood thirty strong. United as one.

The grin on Zhong's face was… incredible. Shu, no matter how good she was at putting herself in someone else's shoes, couldn't imagine the pride and ecstasy he was feeling. But it didn't last for long.

Like the Dragon Warrior he now had a job to do, and not much time to do it. The panda and his friends were already half an hour ahead of them, but wolves ran fast – hopefully they could make up that lost time.

"TO THE CITY!", Zhong yelled, pointing not at the trees on top of the basin they were standing in, but the town he knew instinctly laid miles beyond it.

They were on all fours in no time, and after climbing over the hill with ease, tore through the forest like a packed of crazed, wild animals. They went over or around any obstacles (likes trees) that blocked their path; determined not to stop until they reached their former home (except Shu, who was running towards her _current_ home).

Before they were half-way there, Jing decided to ask the question on the back of his mind. "Err, commander? Who is she?", he inquired, glancing at the she-wolf galloping alongside him and his leader.


	12. Chapter 12: Allies

**_Chapter 12: Allies._**

Kwan, Rao, and Ling had been fighting to break free of the ropes that bound them for almost half an hour, and made no progress whatsoever. The Furious Five knew their knots.

But even if they had managed to get loose, they still wouldn't have got away. Though their eyes weren't on them, their captors were still all around them. Not to mention the crocs were five stories above the ground.

It had taken them a while, but Shifu's students finally found the warehouse (out of about ten nearby), where the Yan-Li were hiding – and were standing on it's roof.

Po, Tigress, Monkey, Crane, and Viper had sent their pal Mantis, the smallest of them all, through one of the cracks to scope the place out before they went in. Now they all waited anxiously for him to return with news of his snooping.

It wasn't good.

"I saw a _lot_ of guys in there", he reported.

"Err, exactly how many is a lot?", Crane asked, worried.

"About fifty. I couldn't count them all", the little bug replied. The worry seeded in Crane's voice was now in his as well, as both animals wondered if _they_ had bitten off more than they could chew.

But they couldn't afford to be afraid. "We've faced worse odds", Monkey shrugged.

Po, for once, had nothing to add to that. He was too busy thinking to himself again. And Tigress knew what it was about.

"You sure you feel up to this?", she asked, worried both for her friend and her team. Like Po no doubt was, she was wondering just how much help the Dragon Warrior would actually be with so many problems dragging him down and blurring his concentration.

"Yeah", he replied, and he wasn't sure himself whether he was lying or telling the truth.

Knowing she couldn't persuade her teammate to sit out (nor force him to do so), Tigress just accepted his answer, lie or truth and walked towards their soon-to-be point of entry – the warehouse's skylight.

Going through the front door, back door, or even the windows would be insane suicide. Even though most of their opponents were novices, they were still vastly outnumbered 50-6, so the only advantage they had was the element of surprise. They'd come in through the skylight, and attack as many lowlifes as quickly as they could before the real fight began.

Below them, the Yan-Li were almost done loading all their stolen treasures into crates, ready to be shipped out at the docks in a matter of minutes. Whether the criminals escaped to steal another day or were finally brought to justice depended entirely on their actions that night. It was time for them to make their move – now or never.

All six masters stepped up to the glass portion of the roof, and looked at each other – knowing it could very well be the last time they saw each other before one or all of them were potentially wounded, or even killed. It was always liked this before every conflict battle they went into, but for Po moments like this seemed even more poignant now after the long talk he had with Zhong about the casualties of war.

As he prepared to save Gongmen City for a second time, he found that for once he didn't want to be the hero loved by all. He only wanted his team to make it out alive. And for him not to let them down.

The panda closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and leapt into the air. His teammates did the same. They descended a few inches from where they had jumped (thus was their intention), and when their feet made contact with something seemingly solid it shattered beneath them and they fell through it, through empty air (razor-sharp glass falling with them).

Crocs, boars, and buffalos just barely heard the noise in time to shield themselves from the onslaught of deadly debris – and they never knew what hit them. The masters took out their first six goons upon landing, by using them to break their fall.

Forty-four other minions just stared at them, eyes popped (they had sort of expected them to come looking for them, but not through the roof) and Shifu's students knew they only had a few precious seconds to use their shock to their advantage.

Po and Tigress lead the charge. Po sideswiped two dudes while Tigress grabbed a croc by the tail and swung him around her like a hammer, knocking three lackeys to the floor. And from that point on, it was on.

The Yan-Li henchmen dropped everything they were carrying and swarmed the masters. Crane deflected the knives and throwing stars some of the more experienced thugs threw at them, while Viper and Monkey tripped up as many opponents as they could, slamming their heads to the floor as soon as they landed.

Mantis pitched in by grabbing one boar's hand and flipping him over his tiny shoulder; his oncoming pals actually tripped over his body. But it wasn't long before the others wised up and started running over the fallen swine. And there were still plenty more coming. Mantis' estimation must have been off, because it felt like way more than just fifty men were present.

Po tried his best to look over the heads of the enormous crowd. It looked to him like they had gained the attention of even more players. Because at the very end of the room, three people who hadn't been there before suddenly appeared, watching the battle with almost amused expressions. A rhino, a leopard, and a tiger. Just from the way they held themselves, compared to their lumbering lackeys, Po could tell they were the leaders of the Yan-Li. The master thieves. Come to watch them die. But it wasn't going to go down like that.

With a new determination, Po punched one boar in the face and moved onto the next one. Funnily enough, right before his fist collided with them, their expressions turned funny. They didn't seem intense or focused on his demise anymore – they looked distracted. That was when Po realized they weren't looking at him, but around him, at whatever had managed to catch them off guard again. But the Five hadn't done anything surprising.

Even the Yan-Li leaders looked shocked, and Po realized he was _really_ missing something.

And then he heard the sounds of combat behind him – sounds his friends weren't making; they were all in front of him.

Against his better judgment he checked it out, and saw the odds of them beating the Yan-Li had greatly improved.

Because Zhong's pack had joined them.

They were all so busy fighting they had completely missed the wolves' entrance (through the front door ironically). Even the three masterminds hadn't noticed them, considering how their expressions had gone from bored to furious in three seconds flat.

And leading the lupines, Zhong cut through the melee with his mighty hammer, knocking any enemy in his way out of it. When he reached Po, the wolf was grinning like an idiot, and the panda was doing the same.

"You…you came", he stammered, before (without looking back) punching a goon who was trying to sneak up on him.

Zhong chuckled. "It's not like we were going to miss a good fight. Especially since we're on the winning side this time", he joked, before he slashed a croc coming at him from the side, making him grab his scaly chest that was now searing with pain.

Po had no idea whatsoever how Zhong had managed to win back the trust of his brothers and rally the troops to war, and he honestly didn't care. He just guessed Shu (who was standing right behind Zhong) did a good job on the stubborn, one-eyed man.

The bear giddily turned to Tigress, who had just joined him, and shook her shoulder. "He followed us! Again!", he proclaimed.

"Yeah Po, I see", she replied, hoping he would calm down, before looking at the wolf pack.

The fugitives were getting nothing out of risking capture, so there was no denying the wolf bandits came for the sole purpose of helping them, in a time they needed that help the most.

Which meant that maybe, just maybe, Po was right about them. She still didn't think the panda had any chance of saving them, but he was right at least about how they were capable of change.

What she was about to do next was not going to be easy, but it was the right thing to do nonetheless. "Thank you", she said, reluctant but grateful.

Zhong nodded before surveying the enemy, which had now gathered in a _really_ long circle, taking up most of the room and surrounding both the masters and the wolves. "Okay, we'll take them out fastest if we divide and conquer. I'm pairing some of you up with each of the Dragon Warrior's pals. You're to adapt to their styles and work _with_ them, not around them. I get the panda. Shu – Tigress. Jing - monkey boy. Tai - snake girl. Koran – bug guy. Xen – long legs. And the rest of you… do what you do best", he ordered, grinning.

They knew he meant butt-kicking. So it was an order none of them objected to.

At the edge of the room, a striped tiger and spotted leopard growled simultaneously and leapt into the crowd. They were both tired of only watching the action, and now that both sides were evenly matched they wanted to make sure their side won.

The rhino that completed the trinity however remained where he was, watching his two partners race off towards their downfall. Gwayne had no desire to suffer the same fate.

**((()-()))**

Considering the crazy day they had, was it any wonder so many Gongmenites were still wide awake instead of being sound asleep as usual? The village children couldn't sleep because they were still too excited about the awesome street fight they witnessed that afternoon, and their parents couldn't sleep because of who they had saw in said fight that afternoon.

Even though it was impossible, it seemed the wolf boss had returned to their city. And who knew what that meant for all of them. But what they really couldn't figure out was why he had been fighting with Shifu's students (who they also had had no idea was in their town again), instead of against them.

And so all their senses were functioning perfectly when the sounds of a scuffle echoed all throughout downtown Gongmen, prompting reluctant villagers and their children to leave their homes to investigate (though they already had a hunch about the source of the racket).

They warned their kids to stay behind them, but of course the young ones didn't listen, racing ahead to get to the fight before their folks did. They were the first to reach the warehouse where it was all going down, and the first to see a random thug go flying out one of the windows.

When they looked through it's shattered remains they could hardly believe their eyes. The Dragon and the Furious Five, fighting alongside the bandits (not just their leader this time, but all of them) that had terrorized them that summer, to combat some nameless, unknown foe.

Their parents couldn't keep them away now even if they wanted to. They didn't care how much trouble they got into later, risking their lives was completely worth it to get a front row view of something so insane.

**((()-()))**

"**_Supermassive Black Hole_**" by Muse begins.

After the last creep she threw hit the street outside, Tigress wasted no time in taking down another one, moving almost systematically. It helped she now had a partner to speed things up. Shu was pretty good for a novice.

Xen meanwhile was enjoying something he never thought any of his kind would get to experience – the sensation of flying. Crane's long legs were easy to hold onto as the bird flew over the battle. He helped his comrades by stepping on and kicking their opponents from above, distracting them just long enough for one of the wolves to pounce. He even blinded one water buffalo by dangling his long, bushy tail in his face.

Koran was working just as well with his partner, Mantis, who was riding the wolf's head as he tore through the throng. Whenever the canine got ahold of one of the Yan-Li he'd beat them down and give Mantis opportunity to work his acupuncture magic. The lupine would never admit it, but Mantis was a pretty powerful bug.

Tai managed to pin one boar down to the floor. He growled and raised his fist, but only let it dangle above the thief's face.

The boar didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he was really confused by the warrior's inaction. And having the still wolf on top of him was starting to feel really awkward. "What's wrong with you?", he scowled.

If he had blinked he would have missed the snake shooting out of Tai's sleeve, coming right at him.

But he didn't blink.

He _did_ see Viper coming at him.

And he screamed.

Monkey had absolutely no qualms about admitting how great it was having wolf pack back-up. Jing was just his kind of guy.

The wolf boss' second lieutenant needed to mess with his opponent's concentration somehow, do something to give himself and Monkey the leg up, so he dived to the floor and actually yanked the guy's pants down. When the humiliated lackey tried to fix them, Monkey attacked with a well-aimed face kick.

When it was over, the simian grinned at his taller ally. "Dude…that was classic", he snickered, giving the wolf two thumbs up.

Jing had only done something like that once when he was just a pup, and he certainly wasn't complimented for doing it. In fact he was yelled at so harshly he never thought about doing it again. So now, years later, he enjoyed the monkey's praise with a big grin on his face. Vindication was sweet.

In fact the only two enjoying themselves more than him and Monkey were Po and Zhong.

The wolf and the panda currently found themselves backed into corner; stacked crates of stolen artifacts preventing them from going left or right and two of the most vicious creatures in the animal kingdom facing them. Mako the tiger and Chi the leopard leered at the pair, their unsheathed claws reflecting some of the moonlight from the busted skylight.

"I take it these are the head honchos?", Zhong asked Po, easily sniffing out the differences between them and the other yahoos.

"Two of them", Po replied, not taking his eyes off his adversaries.

Zhong scoffed. "Big deal. We've both beat tougher guys than this", he said, before suddenly punching a hole in one of the crates. He extracted, out of all things, a sword from the damaged box.

"Not to mention we're in a room full of old stuff; like deadly weapons of death. Not the best place to pick a fight", he added, grinning evilly at the bear next to him. To Chi's, Mako's, and even Po's surprise, he tossed the blade to his comrade, since he already had a weapon of his own.

Not that Po knew how to use a sword. But the Dragon Warrior figured he'd improvise.

Tired of the boring stand-off, Zhong made the first move – charging at the tiger with his hammer held tightly in his fist. Mako dodged him of course; exactly what Zhong wanted him to do. Because before the feline realized his mistake, Zhong's mallet struck him in the ribcage.

The tiger fell to the floor and hissed. His first impulse was to clutch his side and see how bad the damage was, but there was no time as Zhong was coming back for a second attack. Instead he got back on his feet and put his claws to good used, slashing the wolf's chest just before he could reach him.

This time it was Zhong's turn to recoil in pain, and Mako didn't hesitate with his follow up, lunging at Zhong's throat. Luckily when it came to reflexes, the two fighters were pretty easily matched.

Meanwhile, Po was faced with his own troubles, as a beautiful but lethal leopard female kept trying to end his life. Every time she tried to slash him he blocked her with his sword, but eventually she changed tactics and kicked the bear's legs out from under him.

Like Tigress that afternoon, he caught himself before he landing on his stomach but barely had time to choose his next move as Chi was already on top of him. Thinking fast, he leapt into the air (feet first) and returned the female's kick by striking her right in the jaw. He may have kicked a little too hard though, because she actually flew across the room and slammed into some more crates – boxes falling on top of her head.

Po winced. "_She's definitely gonna need to put some ice on that_", he thought, before gasping in astonishment. The Yan-Li bosses were definitely made of tougher stuff than most thieves, because the blow Po dealt her (the one that would have knocked most men out cold) had barely fazed Chi or her initiative. She was already out of the boxes and ready for more.

Awesome didn't even begin to cover what the villagers were watching from the non-safety of the warehouse windows.

Pretty soon, Po and Zhong found themselves paired up again, their backs pressed to each other as two crazy felines prepared to slice and dice them.

Po wiped his sweaty forehead before chuckling. "So, hammer in hand, men at your back, enemies coming at you from all sides. Is this what life was like back in the guard?", he curiously asked his wolven ally.

"No. This is better", Zhong replied, grinning. "Want to trade partners?", he suggested.

"Sure", Po replied.

Switching places, Po went at Mako and Zhong at Chi. Mako had spent the past five minutes studying Zhong's fighting style, and Chi Po's, so neither of them had expected or prepared for the mix-up. After all these years, Commander Yu was still good at catching his opponents off guard.

Chi attempted to avoid Zhong's attacks but the wolf stepped on her tail, preventing her from going anywhere. She tried to cut him of course, but being so close up Zhong grabbed both her hands. Before she could try to break free he used a move he picked up from Shu and head-butted the spotted cat, ending the fight then and there.

Mako meanwhile couldn't believe how fast a panda could move. Dodging the bear's punches and finding time to thrust his own was getting harder and harder by the second until eventually it was impossible. Ultimately the tiger was plumb tired out and had to stop to catch his breath. Big mistake.

Po's stomach turned out to be an even deadlier weapon than the sword he weld that night. Not only did he knock Mako to the floor with it, but took him out entirely with one big belly-flop that actually rocked the part of the building.

When the floor stopped shaking, Zhong stepped forward and whistled; impressed. Tired of carrying the she-thief he had draped over his shoulder, he dropped her down on top of her partner.

"You said these guys were just two of the alpha dogs. Who's next?", he asked the panda.

Po squinted his eyes and looked at the melee _still_ going around them (though it did seem to finally be winding down now that the good guys outnumbered the bad) before he found what he was looking for. "Him", he replied, pointing at the rhinoceros at the end of the room who glared back at them for a few moments before turning around and walking towards a door Po presumed led to another, smaller room.

Before he could follow however, Po knew (from years of making the same mistake over and over again) he had to do something first. He looked around the room again until he spotted his teammate.

"Tigress! We're going after the rhino!", he shouted to his striped friend, who was busy pounding some goon's face in.

In response the cat started walking towards them until Po raised his paw to stop her. "I've got Zhong to back me up, but the guys still need you here", he reasoned.

Tigress hesitated, but nodded eventually; knowing the panda was right about where her place was at the moment. "I'll be there as soon as I can", she promised.

"Alright", Po agreed, before turning and running away from her, gesturing for Zhong to follow.

Somehow she just knew they were all making a mistake.

**((()-()))**

Gwayne strode through the backroom of the warehouse. While the main area was mostly used for storing crates and other large objects, this much smaller section was where all scrolls and other parchments were kept until they could be shipped out.

He practically had his hand on the doorknob to the rear exit when he heard another door fly open behind him. The rhino sighed as he was approached by unwanted company. Eventually, he turned to face them.

"What do you think you're doing?", Po questioned, scowling.

"What does it look like panda? I'm leaving", he replied bitingly.

"Without your gang, and your loot?", Zhong asked suspiciously.

"Once I walk away from this place I can always start a new gang, one with more _competent_ members. And I _will_ reclaim everything I lost here tonight. Anything stolen once can be stolen twice", he promised, semi-threateningly.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. If you escape you'll just keep hurting more people", Po said defiantly.

Gwayne scoffed. "You're one to talk Dragon Warrior, seeing as how you're apparently best friends now with the killer of your kind", the gang leader sneered. The Yan-Li had traveled all over China, so naturally their leader had heard the stories about the disgraced peacock prince of Gongmen city. Enough to know the conqueror's one-eyed right-hand man when he saw him.

The confidence Zhong had been exuding only moments before faltered, and suddenly he felt the urge not to look at the smug bandit or the pure-of-heart panda next to him. Gwayne had found the chink in his (metaphorical) armor.

Po noticed this and glared at the rhinoceros. "Yeah, he is my friend. And it doesn't matter what he did, only what he's doing now. Helping me bring you in", the panda shot back.

Zhong glanced at the bear, lips curling upwards. Not only had Po just stuck up for him a second time, but what he just said was nothing short of a miracle.

Gwayne meanwhile rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Well this is all very interesting, but can we skip to the part where I kill you both?", he asked impatiently.

"Dude, just give it up. It's two against one, and I have a sword", Po reasoned, waving said weapon in his paw.

Gwayne raised his eyebrows, amused. "Really? Well I have a better one", he grinned, before reaching over his back and pulling out another, _longer_ blade. It was only then that Po noticed Gwayne was wearing one of those shoulder strap thingies (he forgot the name) warriors used to carry their blades on their backs instead of in their hands all the time.

"Uh", Po faltered, suddenly feeling a lot less confident.

And for a good reason.

He just barely had time to block the rhino when he came at him. In the split second Gwayne drew back for a second attack, Zhong tried to hit him but the horned animal grabbed his arm and tossed the wolf to the side. He landed in a stack of papers that went flying everywhere.

Po meanwhile was beginning to understand how Mako felt about having to try and keep up with a bigger, faster opponent. The sound of metal striking metal occurred over and over again Po defended himself from mortal injury, not having nearly enough time to collect himself and go on the offense. To be fair, he was doing very well for a bear who'd never used a sword before a day in his life (he thanked Master Shifu's kung fu training for his fast reflexes) but he knew his luck had to run out sooner or later.

And it did.

Up until now whenever Gwayne lifted his sword he always swung at the panda from above or from one of his sides. This time he did something different. He angled his sword so it swung up from below, aimed at the bottom of Po's arms.

Po caught on fast and avoided getting his limbs sliced off by jumping backwards. As a result, the blade's cut only went down a fraction of inch, grazing him, but even that hurt like hell. Blood dripped down from his elbow; if that part of him had been white his fur would now be stained red. To make things even worse, the pain was bad enough to make him drop his sword in favor of cupping his arm, losing what had just barely kept him on equal ground.

Gwayne, a crazed look in his eye, flew at him with his now blood stained sword. Bear blood.

Po took his paw off his elbow and prepared to fight empty-handed when something stopped Gwayne in his tracks. The wolf on his back. Zhong, having shaken off the judo throw, was back in the fight and wasted no time sinking his claws in the rhinoceros' hard skin.

They drew blood of course, and when they did he knew he had finally succeeded in making a dent in the enemy. As well as making him angry.

Out of all the things Zhong had expected Gwayne to do to get him off his back, throwing himself backwards to the floor and crushing the one-eyed general under his weight was not one of them. But it turned out to be Gwayne's choice of action.

As he ran towards the lupine's aid, Po winced. He knew Zhong could take a punch, like him, but they were getting creamed. Maybe he should have been have selfish and let Tigress come after all.

But those thoughts dissipated when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

Gwayne stepped off the now flattened Zhong, leaving him to peel himself off the floor, and both he and Po noticed the panda's sword lying nearby at exactly the same time.

It was the key to turning the battle around.

So Gwayne was determined not to let Po get that key.

Just as Po started to run towards it, the rhino tackled him and started punching the bear. As much as he loved toying with the 'Dragon Warrior' with his swordsmanship, he figured good old brute force would get the job done. He kicked the panda's weapon to the side and it slid under a desk, out of both their reaches.

Po, knowing he had to get his act together, fought back with strength and tenacity. But his attacks just didn't seem to be doing as much damage as the ones he was receiving. And the fight (plus the fights he'd already had with like a dozen guys only minutes before) was starting to wear him down.

He got relief for a few seconds though when Gwayne screamed out of nowhere and whirled his head around, laying off Po long enough for the bear to take a few steps back.

The rhino wasn't at all surprised it was Zhong who punched him in the back of the head.

"You're getting on my nerves wolf", he snarled.

The lupine shrugged. "It's a gift", he replied.

Gwayne's retribution was as merciless as it was swift. Zhong was struck so hard in the cheek Po was surprised the wolf's skull _didn't_ crack. When he tried to help out the panda was met with the same, devastating blow. And a kick to the stomach. And another punch.

It was at this point Po figured Gwayne had snapped. He had already been determined to kill them, but now it was like he wanted to beat them and beat them over and over again until they were nothing but a pile of blood and bones.

His movements, instead being clean and efficient like a swordsman' was supposed to be, were savage and feral. He wasn't even using martial arts anymore; he was just attacking them like a common thug. Fighting dirty. Kicking them when they were down. It was just brutal.

Eventually, Po felt like he was bleeding _everywhere_, and worried about just how much more punishment his body could take.

Then again, Zhong was faring much worse. Unlike Po he didn't have half a ton of fat to lessen any hits he took, so he wound up taking the brunt of Gwayne's fury.

Lacking the energy needed to stand up, Zhong could only watch as Gwayne picked up his trusty hammer and threw it out the door. It landed in the main storeroom with a loud thump, gaining the attention of the wild dog's men and the Furious Five from across the room.

The bruised and battered canine was next on Gwayne's agenda. The wolf was lifted off the ground by his furry chest. He was still fighting though. Still swinging punches even as his feet dangled above the ground. Slow, sluggish punches the bigger thief easily dodged.

"Pathetic", Gwayne sneered, before he did to Zhong what he did his hammer and sent the lupine flying.

"Zhong!", Po shouted, as the wolf flew past him and out the door, landing several yards opposite his mallet.

If the masters and the wolves' curiosity had been piqued by the sudden appearance of Zhong's weapon, the crash-landing of the commander himself alarmed them. Shu especially. She was the first to run to him. She had a long way to go though – she was millimeters away, on the other side of the room.

The villagers outside didn't know what to make of the former soldier being manhandled so badly. Hell, they didn't even understand half of what was happening.

Po didn't have long to worry about Zhong, because right after Gwayne was done humiliating the canine he grabbed the bear by his sides and hoisted _him_ off the ground. To Po's horror the rhino lifted him over his head and went 3 for 3. It all happened so fast he barely registered the moment from leaving Gwayne's hands to slamming into a hard stone floor seconds later.

Shu was about halfway to Zhong, the pack and the Furious Five right on her heels, when her path was blocked by the last members of the Yan-Li still standing. There were only about fifteen of them left, not even close to being enough men needed to win. But winning wasn't their goal.

They were just a blockade. Their loyalty to Gwayne was so strong they were willing to give up their chance at escaping to give him time to do what he needed to – kill Po and Zhong. The henchmen could be disposed of in a matter of seconds, but a few seconds was all the time Gwayne needed.

Po groaned and tried to roll off his side onto his back. Nothing felt broken but everything hurt. He didn't know how long it would take for him to be able to stand up again, he just knew he didn't have the time.

The whole time he was willing his body to roll over he heard the sound of metal scraping against stone – a sword being dragged along a granite floor.

Zhong lifted his head and gasped when he saw what horrible fate was about to befall Po; one he looked helpless to stop. Moving as quickly as he could, Zhong looked around him in desperation until he spotted his hammer. Except it was lying next to Po instead of him, and the bear either hadn't thought about using it or wasn't strong enough to.

"Po!", Tigress screamed. Both she and Shu were leading their merry band of fighters cutting through their goon barricade like a knife through butter. But they weren't moving fast enough.

Po felt the wind being knocked out of him as Gwayne stepped on his round, plushy stomach.

"You should have let me go panda", he snarled, raising his weapon.

Po's eyes widened; adrenaline kicked in, overriding all the pain in his sore aching body. His arms snapped up and he caught the blade between his paws, keeping Gwayne from lowering it onto his neck. But then his limbs were pushed backwards. Even his body's last natural defense wouldn't be enough to save him, because Gwayne was still overpowering him.

Terrified now, Tigress finally knocked down the last minion standing in her way and thrust herself towards her needy comrade on all fours.

Po felt an enormous weight being lifted off his torso, and a sword being ripped out of his palms as Gwayne got a taste of his medicine, soaring backwards away from the bear.

Except Tigress wasn't the one who had the pleasure of bringing the big guy down. Both she and Po looked on in amazement as Zhong tackled the rhino, then punched and slashed him to no end, determined to give his friend a chance to defend himself.

And then he just stopped.

His whole frame froze.

Because of the sword Gwayne had plunged straight through his chest - as close up as anyone could get.

Everyone screamed at exactly the same time, including the kiddies outside who, despite their scared parents shielding their eyes and pulling them away from the gory sight, would be scarred for life. They didn't care who the wolf boss was anymore, only that they had just seen a man get knifed right in front of them.

As Zhong's blood started to leave him so did his strength. Gwayne's face twisted into a cruel smile, worse than any Po had ever seen on the wolf, before tossing the wounded man to the side. He wouldn't get up to try and stop him again.

The fool had no idea the kind of hell he had just unleashed upon himself. No matter what fights the pack had had with their leader lately, he was still one of them. And any pack member who was hurt the way Zhong was would be avenged.

Five masters of kung fu and two dozen wolves pounced, attacking him with all they had. The Five intended to beat all the fight out of him; the wolves wanted to end him.

Now it was Gwayne's turn to be beaten without mercy.

But Po wasn't interested in any of that. Standing up, he looked at the only five wolves who had put aside any thoughts of revenge to be with Zhong. Shu, Koran, Tai, Jing, and Xen surrounded the lupine but were careful not to crowd him as they determined how badly hurt he was.

Gwayne's sword still lodged in his chest was a gruesome sight, but Po knew taking it out would only make it worse.

The bear looked back at the wolves, who were ganging up on Zhong's attacker like an angry mob. By now the Five had already helped incapacitate him, now they actually had to protect Gwayne from the pack's fury.

Po (with a slight limp) walked over to help them when his foot bumped into something that could get their attention much better than he could.

The Five, the wolves, they all stopped fighting and arguing when Po banged Zhong's hammer against the floor. For once the bear actually looked angry. "Guys, stop. Forget about him", he ordered.

Lon was the one to step up to the bear. Since Zhong, Tai, and Koran were all preoccupied, he had taken up the role of leader.

"Not until he's dead. You saw what he did!", he snarled.

"You know what else I see? Your leader, on the ground. He needs you right now. Do you honestly think _this_ is what he would want from you all?", he reasoned.

A year ago, Lon's answer would have been a firm 'yes'. But now…

Behind Lon, all the other wolves had the same conflicted look on their faces as he did - torn between their wishes and Zhong's.

Eventually the canine lashed out in his frustration. "Fine", he grounded out, before gesturing for his packmates to fall back.

If Gwayne were still conscious, he'd have found he now owed his life to the very same panda he tried to gut.

**((()-()))**

When Po followed the pack back to Zhong he saw Xen had made some progress in patching him up, but not much. The doctor had used his shirt to stop Zhong's bleeding, but by now his blood was everywhere - on his clothes, the floor, the friends who'd remained by his side through the last painful minute.

Shu turned to Xen. "How is he?", she asked the pack physician.

She got her answer when the doctor shook his head sadly.

But Zhong, who should have been feeling the worse out of all of them, actually smiled a little, stunning everyone. "That guy was supposed to be one of the best thieves there is. He's not even on Shen's level when it comes to killing people", he stated.

"So you're not going to die?", Jing asked hopefully.

"No I'm still going to die", Zhong replied matter-of-factly, and Jing's hopes were crushed. "But not _as_ fast as the last time. This time, I'm going to stick around long enough to tie up some lose ends, starting with you and Tai", he explained.

Knowing he had something to tell them, both dogs edged in closer.

"It's up to you two to lead the pack from now on and keep the dream alive. I know you'll both do a good job", he declared.

Both men nodded and sniffled before raising their paws to their forehead, saluting their fallen commander.

He did the same, though with a lot of more effort as they could see.

Whenever he ran low on blood, the muscles were always the first thing to shut down.

They stepped back so as to give the next wolf behind them, Koran, a chance to say something. But as he looked down on his superior nothing seemed to come to mind. Nothing except…

"This is so like you. You get us all to trust you and then you get yourself killed", he said, being half-heartedly sarcastic, but not in his usual spiteful way. It was easier to use sarcasm than face the full enormity of what was happening.

Zhong smile's grew a little bit wider. "It's not like I planned this. Still, aren't you glad now you didn't leave with the pack? If you had, you'd have missed your chance to see me off", he said, going against his own usually pessimistic nature and trying to get Koran to look at the bright side of things.

"When I saw you were deadest on helping the panda I couldn't let you go off by yourself and get yourself killed. Not that I made any difference", he muttered.

"Why couldn't you let me?", Zhong asked, eyebrow raised. He was under the impression Koran couldn't care less whether he lived or died.

"For the same reason I've stayed with your sorry tail all these years. Because… I'm still your friend", he confessed, knowing there was no point in denying it.

Zhong's smile returned. "And a good one too", he said, lifting his arm again (and again with a lot of effort required for a usually effortless task) so he could shake Koran's paw.

He was certain he saw a tear in his oldest friend's eye as he turned and walked away, giving someone else a chance to say their parting words.

That someone turned out to be Shu.

"**_The Life and Death of Amy Pond_**" by Murray Gold begins.

Unlike Koran she made no attempt to hide her tears, her watery brown eyes reflecting the moonlight shining down from above.

She got down on her hunches and instead of talking she just looked at him, studying every inch of his face before he went. His beautiful face.

Zhong couldn't miss what she was doing, and it only confirmed what he had thought about for quite some time. "So… when you said you liked me, you meant it in a romantic way, didn't you? Like you have a crush on me?", he inquired.

He took her silent, pained nod as a 'yes'.

"That's why you wanted me to succeed", he said, recalling her pep talk from before. "Heh, do you always fall in love with psychopaths? _Middle-aged_ psychopaths?", he asked teasingly. His light-heartedness paid off when he got her to laugh just a little.

"No, not really. But you're different from most of the psychos I've met. I don't care that you're old", she replied, getting a laugh out of _him_ for a change.

Except for once laughter _wasn't_ the best medicine, because as soon as his chest started shaking he recoiled violently and gritted his teeth. He was so good at acting casual and normal, she had almost forgotten how much pain he had to be in. And how that pain was spreading through him like venom.

That tiny smile Zhong had coaxed onto her face vanished in an instant, replaced by fear and concern. And even denial. "Zhong you can't do this. I mean, you haven't even finished your s- your 'you-know-what' yet", she said, desperately looking for a reason to convince him to hang on. As if he wasn't doing that already, and failing. At least she was still keeping his secret hobby a secret, even now.

"You can finish it for me. Maybe they'll play at it my funeral, if the city will let me have one", he suggested.

"I can't do that", she argued, shaking her head.

"Sure you can; you're a smart girl. Not to mention a pretty one", he said, almost chuckling but stopping himself before he made that mistake again. "I know we haven't known each other long, maybe like half a day, but I'm glad I met you", he admitted.

It was the most touching thing he'd said to her since she blackmailed him that afternoon.

The she-wolf wiped away her tears, leaned in close, and pecked him on the cheek. "I'm glad I met you too", she whispered, choking as she willed herself to stand up again. She really didn't want to leave him, but she knew there was still one last person he needed to talk to.

Po didn't know what to expect as Zhong beckoned him forward, he just did as the wolf asked.

When he got in close enough Zhong reached out and grabbed his paw (this time the action was so slow and drawn out it looked like he literally had to force himself to do it; it was cringe-worthy).

"I was going to do this this morning, but the bird got in my way. And I just kept putting it off", he explained, ears lowering in shame. "But now I'm all out of time", he said resolutely, fighting the urge he so often got to look away from the bear, wanting to keep direct eye contact with him this last time.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you and your people. Ever since I regained my sanity, there hasn't been a day gone by I haven't wished I could take it all back; but I can't", he said, as sincere as a man could be, before groaning. He shook off whatever pain he had just experienced and continued.

"The fact you ignored all that though, and tried so hard to help me when you don't even really know me proves that you're _incredible_. An incredible man, and a far better one than me", he said in unashamed admiration.

A small tear rolled down Po's cheek before the panda shook his head. "That's crazy talk. What you did was harder than anything I've ever done. You sacrificed yourself man. Twice. That's… pretty hardcore", he reminded him in equal admiration.

Zhong beamed. But not for the reasons Po thought. He was smiling at an ironic thought. "The Dragon Warrior – kind, loyal and wise. I never thought that could be you – a fat, flabby panda. But now I know the universe made the right choice picking you", he mused.

That was actually the last thing Po wanted to hear when he was about to watch someone die right in front of him.

That tear drop that left his eye before was now followed by quite a few more. And even though he knew it was pointless, Po couldn't stop himself from doing what he did next. "Zhong please, don't go", he pleaded, but the wolf ignored him, unable to hold on any longer.

"Thank you Dragon Warrior, and good-bye", he said kindly. And then he was gone – eyes lowering until they snapped shut, never to open again.

He'd passed away, like his friend Shen.

Except unlike Shen, he died an honorable and selfless death.

Unlike Shen, the Wolf Boss had atoned for his sins.

All was quiet as Po (trembling) released Zhong's limp, lifeless paw, letting both arms rest at the man's side.

And then it was quiet no longer as thirty howls rang in his ears. Thirty wolves mourning their loss.

The Furious Five, not knowing what else to do, looked away.

Shu, unable to hold it in any longer, broke down crying, grabbing onto Po's shoulder for support.

The panda however didn't know whether he wanted to cry too or scream; out of a fury directed solely at himself.

**_Author's Note:_**

Let us all have a moment of silence to honor Zhong, who once again acted bravely and sacrificed himself to help his friends. From traitor to hero, we salute you Boss Wolf.


	13. Chapter 13: The Crossroads of Destiny

**_Chapter 13: The Crossroads of Destiny._**

Obviously the sounds of sorrow couldn't go on forever. The wolves had to stop eventually, and when they did Po was the first to ask their new alpha the most obvious question.

"So what are you going to do now?", he inquired, once things had calmed down some.

Tai sighed. "We're going to turn ourselves in. We've been running for so long, all our lives. Zhong would want us to stop", he replied.

Po glanced at his second-in-command Jing to get his opinion. "He's right. The commander trusted us to make the right choices, and this is the right choice", the younger one said, agreeing with his senior.

Po couldn't argue with that. "I'll defend you in court. I'll stand by you, no matter what", he promised them.

Someone tapped him on the back and he turned around to face Koran of all of people. The wolf, looking very uncomfortable, decided to explain himself.

"Zhong was right about you", he admitted. "None of us ever believed him so none of us ever asked this, but I'm asking you now. Why are trying so hard to save us from being executed? Why do _you_ care about what happens to _us_?", he asked, baffled and uncomprehending.

The panda looked so sad as he gave him his most honest reply. "Because someone has to end the cycle of killing", Po remarked, eyes downcast. "We're all in this together now, for better or worse", he said, leaving Koran to mull over those words before he walked off to be by himself.

He was holding himself together pretty well, on the surface. But on the inside he felt terrible. Yet another life had been lost in Gongmen City, and this one was taken saving his.

He didn't understand it. The night's events went against everything the soothsayer had foreseen.

Before he had brushed his vision of her off as nightmare, terrified of what the future would bring if it was real, but there was no denying the dream was real now. Real and confusing.

The bearded woman told him he'd lose something important soon and he'd give it up willingly. _He_ was supposed to make the big sacrifice, not Zhong. He certainly didn't choose for Zhong to die.

The only explanation he could think of was that he'd failed somehow. That he'd done something wrong, made the wrong choice somewhere along the line and screwed everything up.

Only an hour ago he thought he was taking care of unfinished business, redeeming himself. Now he felt even worse about being the Dragon Warrior than he ever had before.

His friends, Zhong, the wolf pack - they'd all put so much faith in him. Apparently that faith had been misplaced.

Po's friends were all busy making sure the Yan-Li didn't come to, but really they were doing the same thing he was – coming to terms with the death they just witnessed. The wolves, toughened by years at war, were good at soldiering on by now but even they couldn't cover their anguish entirely. Shu meanwhile looked like she could start crying again any second; it would only take one little thing to set her off.

**((()-()))**

The solemn, saddened crowd outside the warehouse parted down the middle, making room for the Gongmen royal guard to pass. Word had gotten to the guard about another fight downtown (the second one that day), and after racing towards their destination (warehouse 13 by the bay) for five straight minutes when they got there they found it was already over, though for how long they weren't sure.

The head of the guard, Benjamin, was curious about just what had went down, to say the least. He got his first clue when he spotted the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five waiting for him at the front door.

The antelope smiled. "Ox and Croc told me you'd be back in town soon. I'm guessing you found the Yan-Li?", he asked.

For some reason, none of them responded; they only nodded their heads. Like they were retaining something from him. His smile receded slightly.

"You know we've been getting some pretty weird reports all day, reports we've chalked up as wide-spread paranoia. You wouldn't know anything about them, would you?", he asked with false nonchalance.

Again no one answered; they all just stared at him with empty expressions. Like the townspeople they parted down the middle, giving the guard passage to the warehouse's front door. Po, stretching his arm, beckoned for them to go inside. And they did just that.

But when they opened the doors, they found thirty-one wolves waiting for them on the other side (along with like fifty guys lying unconscious on the floor).

"What the-?!", the antelope exclaimed, raising his spear in alarm. So the rumors circulating were true.

Before he and his men could attack though, Po got in their way. "They don't want to fight, they want to turn themselves in", he explained.

"You've got to be kidding me. We've been looking for them for six months, and you expect me to believe you found them in one day _and_ they want to turn themselves in?!", Benjamin snapped, obviously thinking the panda took him for a fool.

"It's been a long day", was Po's simple reply. "Just look at them, they're not putting up any kind of fight", he reasoned.

Ben had to think about that for a moment before quickly replying "It could still be a trap". And then he realized something. "Where is their leader?", he demanded, noticing the one-eyed wolf's absence.

The pissed-off antelope was really starting to get tired of nobody answering his questions. It was just rude.

Now it was the pack's turn to divide down the middle, revealing the body of a certain one-eyed general lying on the floor behind them – lifeless.

And that changed everything.

"Now that he's dead, being free doesn't matter anymore", Po explained.

Benjamin blinked.

He turned back to one of his men. "Yami, go get some more handcuffs. A lot more. Around eighty – enough for _two_ criminal gangs", he ordered.

The female antelope nodded and ran outside.

He turned back to Po. "Good job Dragon Warrior. Good job", he congratulated him; apparently he was finally willing to take the panda's word for it.

Then he walked past him, the Five, the wolf pack (glaring just as coldly at the fugitives as they were at him), finally stopping at Zhong's body. He bent down to get a closer look, and naturally everyone in the room tensed when he did so. Some were worried about what he was going to do, and some didn't want him going near the deceased lupine.

Benjamin wasn't paying attention to them at all however. He was in awe. For so many nights he had wished for the wolf's death, and now it had finally happened. Now he was finally face to face with the man who killed his teacher, the one he'd trained with almost all his life, Master Thundering Rhino. He may not have lit the fuse that caused his death, but he helped build the weapon Shen used to destroy him – so to Ben, the wolf was every bit as responsible as his master.

He knew, as a student of kung fu, he was never supposed to take pleasure in someone else's demise, no matter who that person was, but he couldn't help himself.

He actually smirked as he stood up again. "Looks like this monster finally got his just deserts", he sneered under his breath, before he was suddenly struck across the face. But not by one of Zhong's soldiers, but his would-be girlfriend Shu. He hadn't been aware the she-wolf was standing behind him the whole time.

"Don't talk about him like that! Not in front of me", she growled, tone softening towards the end.

Benjamin frowned as he rubbed his sore cheek. He'd seen the girl around the village a few times so he knew she wasn't part of Zhong's pack. He had no idea how she was mixed up in it all though. "He was a murderer", the man argued.

"His men are the reason the Yan-Li are defeated. He sacrificed himself saving Po. He died a hero, and as long as I'm here you're going to treat him with as much respect as you would any other dead man", she shot back, in a tone that told the antelope there would be no arguing with her.

The guard narrowed his eyes before muttering "Whatever" and turning away, walking back to his own soldiers.

Once he was out of her sight, Shu let another silent tear slip down her face. She got her down on her knees, bending over Zhong, and stroked the cheek she had kissed only minutes before.

It was still so hard to believe she had met such an amazing man, one who made everyone around him want to be the best they could be, and then had to say good-bye to him as quickly as they had met. It just wasn't fair.

She slid her paw down his face, trailing it down one of his furry, brawny arms, before resting it on his right hand, taking it in hers. Something she would have done so many times if she had had the chance.

Jing was the one who heard her gasp, and whisper something unintelligible when no one else did.

The next thing she said was much louder though. "XEN!", she screamed, shocking everyone.

The wolf pack's physician came when he was called, followed by practically everyone else (Shifu's students, the pack, the guard).

"What is it?", he asked, kneeling besides the she-wolf.

"He's got a pulse", she said excitedly, handing Zhong's arm to him before Xen could fully take in what she said.

When he did he was certain she was either suffering from wishful thinking, or her mind her snapped, because Zhong's death had been too much for her to take. But even though he didn't believe her, he again did what she asked, with countless others looking over his shoulder.

A second later, he began to question his own sanity. "Oh my lord", he whispered. "You're right", he said. He squeezed his commander's paw even tighter. "It's not that strong, but it's there", he noted. He placed his hand on the wolf's forehead. "And his body is still warm", he realized.

Everyone in the room knew what that meant before he even had to say the words.

Turning around, he took in the hopeful (and in Benjamin's case horrified) faces of everyone present. "He's still alive", he declared.

Po was the next one to join them on the floor, followed by Koran. "How?", the panda asked.

"Gwayne's blade didn't pierce any vital organs, but he lost so much blood before we could stop the flow I thought, he thought too, he was still going to die. Apparently the death we witnessed was just him losing consciousness, but he's not gone yet", he explained, before growling suddenly and balling his fists. "I should have checked his pulse", he groaned self-loathingly, bringing his fist to his crumpled forehead.

"Doc focus! So are you saying?...", Po asked, praying he wasn't getting his hopes up for nothing.

"I'm saying he's still holding on, even now", the wolf replied.

Po looked over his shoulder at the motionless one-eyed canine on the floor. Motionless but still alive. "_You wolves never do know when to give up, do you?_", he thought, thrilled and captivated at the same time.

"There's a chance we can still save him. It'll be risky moving the body but it's risk we'll have to take. We've got to stitch him back up; there's no telling how much longer he'll last like this", Xen warned the bear.

Benjamin had heard enough; and intervened. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. This guy is not going anywhere except a prison cell", he said, breaking through the wolves and kung fu masters so he could speak to Po face-to-face.

Po had seen and heard a lot of things he couldn't believe that day, but this one… This one was just on an entirely different level. "Are you crazy?! This man needs to go to a hospital or he'll die! Again!", Po said incredulously.

"That's not my problem", Benjamin replied, cold and indifferent. "My job is to take him and his boys in, dead or alive; not to make sure they're in good health", he retorted.

Po was so stunned he actually tripped over his words trying to come up with a reply, causing the antelope raise his brow. "Y-You're a royal guard; you're supposed to help people!", Po reminded him, scowling.

"I help law-abiding citizens, not criminals", he answered stubbornly.

Po's scowl turned into a full-blown glower. The panda didn't care if Zhong was a criminal, he was still a man. And to him, standing around and watching a man slowly die was just wrong. Wrong and monstrous.

Going from his friends' furious protests (and the murderous threats from the wolves – Shu included), they all thought the same.

"Well if you won't help him, I will", he decided, turning around.

And then he felt a hand grab his shoulder – _hard_.

"No", Benjamin said frostily. If you do that you'll be obstructing justice, _Dragon Warrior_. I'll have no choice but to arrest you too", he warned him.

He did succeed in making the bear stop and think for a second, before he shook the guard's hand off him and kept walking.

Now it was Ben's turn to be incredulous. "This is your freedom we're talking about panda! Once you lose it you can't get it back! Is this _creature_ really worth giving it up?!", he demanded, not even attempting to hide the disgust in his voice as he spoke of Zhong.

Po wasn't even listening to him rant though (he had stopped a while ago); he was too busy wanting to kick himself (like Xen) for being such an idiot.

It was all so obvious now, what the soothsayer meant.

_'It is not your life that will be lost Po, but something just as precious_'.

Freedom was more than just a concept - it was a right. A right so vital, so precious, that a life really wasn't worth living without it.

So many wars had been to fought to defend it; so many lives lost over it. It was what he and his friends had sworn to protect. And now his was on the line.

He had to choose between preserving it or saving a life.

The answer of course was simple.

There was no choice to make.

"Yes!", Po snapped (all out of patience), making the skinnier animal flinch.

Tigress, Monkey, Crane, Viper, Mantis, Shu, Koran, Tai, Jing, Xen, Lon, even the villagers outside (who were _still_ being nosy and observing them through the open front door), they all watched possibly the bravest man alive do one of the bravest acts of self-sacrifice they had ever seen (in the past five to ten minutes).

Bending down, Po slipped his arms under Zhong's back and (being as gentle as a panda could be) hoisted him off the ground.

"This is your last warning panda!", Benjamin threatened. His last chance at salvation.

Po wasn't interested.

He turned all his attention to Tigress. The feline who, like her friends, watched his defiant actions in astonishment. "Ti, when you get back to the Valley, tell Shifu I'm sorry; and tell my dad I love him", he asked her. She didn't reply, she didn't even nod, only staring at him with wide eyes, but he knew she would honor his request. She was dependable like that.

Po took a deep breath and, knowing there was no turning back, leapt into the air.

Everyone looked up, tracking Po with their eyes, as he landed on a stack of crates. Needless to say his weight threw them off balance, but before they could fall he jumped onto another, higher, pile.

The guards were blocking the exits, so he was going to take the only other way out of the warehouse.

Benjamin could do nothing to stop the bear as he jumped out the busted skylight - out of his reach. And he definitely couldn't do anything to stop the three dozen other animals who copied his actions seconds later.

**((()-()))**

Just because Po was out of the building didn't mean he was out of danger yet. The panda completely ignored the trio of crocs still tied up nearby, and bounded off the rooftop's nearest ledge.

If the Gongmenites thought the fight from before was a show, they were quickly proven wrong.

The bear landed on a slanted roof across the street and almost slid off the tilted tiles before steadying himself. He backed up, getting a nice long running start, before he once again bounded to the next building. He felt more like an acrobat instead of a kung fu master.

And the kiddies below thought so too. Again their parents were unable to restrain them as they ran down the street, following the out-of-town hero. But they weren't the only ones hot on his tail.

Po vaulted over huts, apartment buildings, general stores. For a panda who could barely find the energy to stand up not too long ago, he seemed to have an endless supply of it now. He didn't just chalk his rejuvenation up as the result of pure willpower (though it was certainly a factor).

What he was doing was impossible. But then again anything was possible with inner peace.

He had his mojo back. Along with his maximum skills.

The Dragon Warrior stopped his search however when something told him he wasn't alone.

He turned around and grimaced. "No, no, no", he groaned at the Furious Five who now crowded the same roof as him (the wolf pack crowded the last three roofs behind them). "You guys can't be a part of this. Go back", he told them.

"No way Po", Monkey replied, grinning.

"We're all in this together now", Crane said.

"For better or worse", Tigress added, arms folded.

So they'd overheard him.

There'd be no changing their minds. They were all just as stubborn as him. And like him, they were all willing to do whatever it took.

"Fine, if you guys really want to hop aboard the sinking ship, be my guest", he caved in. Though really, deep down, a part of him that he felt really guilty about was glad they came.

Five wolves jumped onto their roof. The ones closest to Zhong of course - Koran, Shu, Xen, Tai, and Jing.

"Careful, don't jostle him too much", Xen cautioned, checking Zhong's pulse again.

"I've been trying not to. Do you know how hard it is not to 'jostle' something when you're running?", Po retorted.

"Do you even know where you're going panda?", Tai asked, frowning.

"I'm trying to find a doctor or a healer; there's gotta be one nearby", Po replied.

Tai rubbed his chin and looked around them. "There's a hospital right over there", he said, pointing to a brick building off in the distance.

Po only had to squint his eyes a little bit to spy it, which meant it wasn't that far away. Only a few blocks.

"We might actually pull this off", the panda realized.

And then he heard someone shouting.

The wolves and the masters' heads all snapped downwards at the same time and their excited expressions twisted into scowls. Besides the frenzied Gongmenites, the royal guard was also storming the streets, looking for them.

"Them again?", Mantis growled, frustrated.

"Shouldn't they be back at the docks, keeping an eye on the bad guys we busted our butts catching?", Monkey asked, equally frustrated.

"**_The Doctor's Theme: Series Four_**" by Murray Gold begins.

"If they follow us-", Po worried, before his comrade interrupted him.

"We'll keep them busy Po. You just get Zhong where he needs to be", Tigress directed.

Now he was really glad his friends followed him.

The wolves apparently liked Tigress' idea too, since there were barks of agreement from the other roofs.

"Good luck", Tai said, before he and Xen went back the way they came, crossing a small gap between buildings and rejoining their pack, the Furious Five right behind them.

What really surprised Po was that Koran wasn't. He opened his mouth to speak but seemed to struggle with finding the right thing to say. From what Po could tell it was like he wasn't used to talking to people without anger or biting sarcasm. But the tone in his voice when he said "panda", told the bear all he needed to know.

He was concerned about Zhong, just like the rest of them.

"Don't worry, I won't fail. I'll get him there or die trying", he vowed.

Koran paused before nodding, accepting his promise at face value, and walked off reluctantly; the most bitter and resistant of the wolf pack now trusting him with his commander's life.

"Be careful", Shu said, looking down at Zhong one last time before she turned and followed Koran. She knew what was at stake, so she was ready to do her part to help out.

Jing's parting words were even shorter. They weren't even words at all, but got the message across just as well.

He saluted Po.

The first man he'd ever saluted besides Zhong and Lord Shen.

It was a sign of respect. And in this case, a sign he had the respect of the pack.

It was an honor Po would have gladly returned if he didn't need both arms to hold onto the wild dog's leader.

Understanding, Jing just beckoned for him to go on before he too followed his brothers.

When he did catch up however, Jing stopped for a second and looked over his shoulder – just in time to see the Dragon Warrior jump onto the next hut and sprint off into the night. And unlike him, the panda never looked back.

"_Godspeed panda bear_", he thought, grinning.

Godspeed indeed; because the children in the streets (dragging their hopelessly confused parents behind them) struggled just to keep up with him. They kept their eyes focused solely on the panda, because they knew if they blinked for just one second he'd be gone.

Po meanwhile focused on getting to that hospital; every step he took brought him closer to it.

He glanced down at Zhong. "We're almost there buddy, just a little further", he reassured him.

The wolf of course didn't reply, and even though he knew he couldn't Po didn't like it. He didn't like thinking that maybe there was a possibility he was already too late.

He never thought he'd be tearing up over a guy who hammered him in the face and punched him in the gut. But sure enough his eyes were feeling damp again as he thought about how he was racing against time.

"Zhong you can't die again. Not a third time", he said desperately. "There's already been too many people I couldn't save – my mom, my dad, my clan, hundreds of your men… Shen. I couldn't save any of them, but I can still save you. You have to let me!", he pleaded with the unconscious man.

Sniffling, the bear looked up and saw a rather foreboding sight. Coming up fast was another large gap between rooftops, this one about two or three buildings long. A distance even he might not be able to jump.

Not that that stopped him, or even slowed him down.

The panda just ran faster, ignoring the scared gasps of the village children below.

He promised Koran he would succeed or die trying, and he meant every word.

Zhong was right about how the universe chose him as Dragon Warrior for a reason. The wolf boss never gave up. The crazy guy never knew when to call it quits, and neither did he - no matter how bad things got. His perseverance was his greatest strength.

Both he and the little kiddies braced themselves as he ran off the side of the roof at full speed, feet spinning over empty air.

They closed their eyelids, fearing the worse for China's most beloved hero, but (unable to resist) cracked them open again a second later.

And screamed for joy.

Because the Dragon Warrior had made it to the other side.

Truthfully, not even he had expected to survive (his eyelids cracked open like theirs), and like always he cut it incredibly close by landing on the very edge, but he stuck the landing nonetheless.

Inner peace was a lifesaver.

He looked around him, got his bearings, and saw he was finally on the street he needed to be. The next building he jumped to was shorter, so it was safe enough for him to make the drop down to the ground.

He hid in an alley when he heard the crowd coming, and didn't emerge until he was sure they had passed him by. The last thing he needed was a mob of Gongmenites swarming him and slowing him down.

Once he was sure the coast was clear he approached the hospital, which of course looked bigger close up. Bigger than the one back home (though that was probably because the population was much bigger as well). Besides being made entirely out of bricks, it also had five floors.

Taking a deep breath (not knowing what would happen next, but having gone too far to let fear get the best of him now) Po knocked on the front door.

Once. Twice. Three times. He was on the fourth knock when he heard the inner mechanism of the door handle turning.

**((()-()))**

Xavier and the other hospital staff got new patients at all times of the day, but mostly _during_ the day. So the old duck was curious about who could use their medical expertise so late at night. He supposed it had something to do with the fight he'd heard went down downtown.

He was right.

Because when he opened the door it was the Dragon Warrior of all people waiting for him on the other side.

"Drag…", he began, before he caught sight of what the panda was holding in his arms. One of the wolves who had invaded his fair city months ago. And going by his singular eye he wasn't just one of them, he was their leader.

The panda apparently knew what he thinking, knew his mind had to be reeling, because he spoke up quickly as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

"Yes he is who you think he is, and I know you probably don't want anything to do with him, but you're a doctor. It's your job to help people in need and right now he and I both need your help", the panda said urgently.

As Po's words sunk in, the duck gulped. "Is… is he dangerous?", he asked.

"Hardly", Po replied, lowering the wolf down to the duck's level so he could see Gwayne's sword lodged in his chest. Not to mention all the other cuts and bruises the master thief had given him.

Xavier was shocked to say the least. Not pleased, like Benjamin had been, just shocked. "How long has he been like that?", he asked.

"About fifteen to twenty minutes", the panda replied.

Those were not the words he wanted to hear. "Then there's nothing I can do for him. I'm afraid he's already long gone", the duck said grimly.

"No you don't understand, he's not dead yet", Po said enthusiastically. "Here, check his pulse", the bear said, holding out the wolf's arm.

The duck, like Xen before him, hesitated but did just that, cupping the lupine's paw. Po's lips curled upwards just a tiny bit as he saw the doctor's eyes widen. He had just joined the long list of people who'd had their minds blown recently.

"His heart is weak, but it's still beating. Like he's still clinging to life", the man realized.

"He is, but he can't do it alone doc. Please tell me you'll help us", the panda implored.

In the moments following he wished he was a mind reader, so he could know what the fowl was thinking as he mulled things over.

Eventually he made his decision. "Stay here", the duck said, walking to the back of the waiting room and disappearing down a hallway.

The longer he was gone, the more anxious Po became. He couldn't help but wonder if the old man left so he could sell him out to the royal guard. He certainly had had mixed feelings about doctoring a notorious criminal. Then again he supposed anyone would in his shoes. He could only hope Xavier had a strong enough moral code to do what Benjamin couldn't, and put aside his own personal opinions long enough to do what was right.

Po was so relieved when the duck returned with a few nurses, pushing a rolling table. When it bumped his legs Po realized what it was for and gently set Zhong's body down on top of it.

As they started to roll the canine away, Po decided (a bit late) that he should ask some (important) questions. "Hey, uh what can I do?", he inquired.

"You can remain here until the procedure is over. We're already walking on thin ice, stitching up a half-dead man, the last thing we need is any kind of distraction", the duck replied.

"Right, right", the bear said, nervous but trying his best to remain calm. All alone now, he sat down in a bamboo chair.

If he thought he hated waiting before, now he despised it with a passion. Cursed it's very existence.

For a short while the fate of Zhong Yu had literally been in his hands; now it was in someone else's. He hated not being able to help and not knowing just what was going on behind closed doors.

He supposed the feeling was natural. He guessed it was how people always felt when a friend or family member was hospitalized. That still didn't bring him any comfort though.

No, the only thing that helped him was the return of his friends (and in the case of the wolves, his acquaintances). At first he thought it was the royal guard knocking on the door, going by how hard the knocks were, until he heard Tigress' familiar, calming voice on the other side and he let them in off the streets before they were seen.

Apparently they didn't have to worry about the guard tracking them for quite some time. The city officials would spend the rest of the night unconscious and the next morning enduring really bad headaches.

With his friends there to support him, and Tigress there to hold his paw and keep him strong, one of the longest nights of his life got a little bit easier to bear.

**_Author's Notes:_**

'_When you run with the Doctor, it feels like it'll never end. But no matter how hard you try, you can't run forever. Everybody knows that everybody dies, and nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I think that all the skies in all the worlds might just turn dark, if he ever, for one moment, accepts it_'.

- River Song, "**_Forest of the Dead_**".

This chapter is named after one of my favorite (and perhaps most poetic) episodes of "**_Avatar: The Last Airbender_**".

Zhong's not dead. I lied. His demise was always meant to be a Disney death. Still, at least I made Po work for it instead of having Zhong 'miraculously' return to life.

You ever wonder why I talk about "**_Doctor Who_**" so much? I've mentioned the guy's name in most of my fics. Doctor this, Amy that. River this, TARDIS that. By now you're probably thinking, what is with this guy's obsession? Especially since this isn't the DW category, and most of you have probably never even seen that show. I apologize if I've annoyed you. It's just that show had an enormous effect on me.

I wasn't always so obsessed. Watching "**_Doctor Who_**" on BBC America used to be a casual thing. I actually found it to be kinda so-so at first, especially the Christopher Eccleston era when the show was still finding it's thing. It was a good show, but it wasn't anything great to me. Until I saw "**_Silence in the Library_**" / "**_Forest of the Dead_**".

Undoubtedly the best Steven Moffat two-parter so far (topping even the mystery of the gas mask child, the Weeping Angels romp on the Byzantium, and the dizzying trip to 1960s America), this was the episode that converted me from casual viewer to diehard Whovian.

Steven wrote this big, complex mystery where the answer was hidden in plain sight all along, but beneath all the brain teasers there was so much heart to the story. When the final five minutes came around, Moffat packed so much power into his words. All those feelings that had been building up inside you that you had been trying so hard to hold back finally came to a head, and it was glorious. In my mind I was screaming 'YES DOCTOR, YES!'. I finally got why so many people loved the Doctor, and why the show had been around for so long.

After that, I fell in love with him. For the same reason I fell in love with Balto as a kid, when that brave wolf-dog's perservance helped him save Nome from certain doom. And the same reason "**_Kung Fu Panda 2_**" turned me into a fan of the franchise.

There's nothing I love more than an unlikely hero. A guy who seems too goofy or too irresponsible to ever be of any help to anyone, but just beneath the surface lies a guy who's willing to face impossible odds and do the impossible all for the sake of the greater good.

I liked the first "**_Kung Fu Panda_**" because it had a main character like that - Po. I liked it, but I didn't love it. It never quite touched me the way it should have because I thought it was a bit too generic and too much like every other martial arts movie about believing in yourself, but with furry animals taking the place of people. Until I saw the sequel; where they took the lesson of the first movie to a whole new level.

Watching Po singlehandedly end a thirty-year war and then forgive the man who killed his family was…. beautiful. There's no other word for it, beautiful. From that moment on Po stood alongside Balto and the Doctor as one of my favorite fictional heroes. And all that stuff played a _huge_ role in the making of this story.

When I was writing the first draft of the plot, and playing "**_The Doctor's Theme_**" on a loop while doing so, the whole fic was built around one scene – Po saving Wolf Boss.

When I read the end of "**_Erdan_**" and discovered Yu _died_, I kept thinking about life and death, and heartbreak and redemption. I kept thinking about how, in almost every Wolf Boss fic I'd read so far, Shen's second-in-command was always so convinced he was beyond help and _had_ to die to make up for his sins. It was so tragic it was one of those rare things that brought me to tears – I was crying over a bad guy, in a _fanfic_. So I felt the urge to start writing again, and dream up a story that was different than all the other Wolf Boss fics, one where Po helped him _live_. This was that story.

Now, Po helping Wolf Boss is nothing new, there's plenty of fics on the archive like this ("**_Worthwhile_**", "**_Sometimes A Wolf Gets A Second Chance_**", "**_Strength in Unity_**"). But when I wrote the plot for "**_Lazarus_**" I wanted to take the concept of Po/Boss Wolf friendship to the extreme, and have Po sacrifice his freedom to save his former enemy. That's why "**_Lazarus_**" is one of my favorite stories; it plays on what I admire the most in a hero – perseverance and self-sacrifice.

Well, that's it for the author's notes. Nothing left to say now except the usual - please review.


	14. Chapter 14: Forgiven

**_Chapter 14: Forgiven._**

There was a buzzing in Zhong's ears.

So he still had ears then. Which meant he still had a body. Which meant he _wasn't_ dead.

Hopefully.

He also realized, vaguely, that the buzzing sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. His eyes were closed so he was shrouded in darkness; and his mind was slow and sluggish.

For example, he was just beginning to register he was lying on a bed instead of the hard, bloody floor he last remembered being.

He tried to listen harder, focusing all his energy on his ears – pricking them up. His concentration paid off, because when he heard the noise again he recognized it almost immediately.

"_I swear I saw his fingers move just now_", Po the panda insisted.

Had he moved he fingers?

He felt like he was waking up from a really long sleep and wasn't entirely aware of his actions.

He turned his attention to his right arm (he couldn't see his limbs but felt them attached to his sides) and made an effort to flex his five digits.

"_See, he just did it again!_", the panda exclaimed.

The wolf smirked, amused by the bear's excitement. He imagined there being dopiest grin on the Dragon Warrior's face.

"_And now he's smiling!_", Po added, not missing a thing.

The next voice he heard wasn't Po's though.

"Zhong? Are you awake?", Shu asked cautiously. So she was with them too, wherever the three of them were. Though as far as he knew there was probably more than three.

He decided it was time to open his eyelids and learn of his surroundings.

His eyes had been closed for so long the light burned at first, and he thought about raising his hand to his face, but they adjusted quickly enough. His vision was incredibly fuzzy and disorganized but with time it came into focus.

The two blurry panda bears he was seeing merged into a much sharper one, and that one bear carefully approached the lupine, leaning over his bed.

Neither animal said a word, just staring at each other; Po trying to determine whether the wolf was really with them, and Zhong trying to understand just what the hell was going on.

Of course he had a morning like this before, not too long ago. The last time he was mortally wounded. Talk about Déjà vu. Except there weren't as many people the last time around.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Shu, the Furious Five, Tai, Jing, and Koran standing behind Po.

"**_36 Years_**" by Murray Gold begins.

He figured he ought to get the first word in. "Hey, what did I miss?", he asked casually.

And the kung fu master broke into laughter.

"Welcome back to the world of the living pal", he said cheerfully, before grabbing the wolf's shoulder and pulling him into (out of all things) a bear hug.

The wolf felt very conflicted. On the one hand, he hadn't been any hugged by anyone in what, three decades? Even before he and his pack went rogue, he wasn't exactly the hugging type.

_And_ he was recovering from another near-fatal injury (he could feel the gauze on his chest so someone must have patched him up), so squeezing him was not such a good idea.

On the other hand, the panda was very soft. As soft as he always pictured him being. Like a big fluffy pillow. Instead of hurting his sore torso, the panda's fat closing in on it was actually kinda soothing. He didn't fight the bear as he pulled him into his round belly.

Of course, Po didn't have hold of him for long. Once he was done he let go of him so Shu, grinning from ear to ear, could have her turn.

He figured he must have really given her a scare, cause the she-wolf did not hold back with her hug – grasping him tightly and nuzzling his neck. He liked it even more than the last one.

Standing nearby, the Furious Five and the trio of wolves present grinned. They were relieved by Zhong's awakening, but also getting a kick out of what they were seeing.

When Shu let go of him and started to pull away, he knew just what he wanted to say to her. "Looks like we get to spend more time together after all", he said, pleased.

She was thinking exactly the same thing.

"Hey Zhong", Po spoke up; and the wolf and his lady friend looked his way. "Remember that stuff we talked about before you… blacked out? About you attacking my village?", the panda asked; and Zhong stiffened. He hadn't forgotten about that. Though he kinda wished Po had.

He dreaded facing this topic again, it'd taken all his courage to bring it up the first time, but no matter how anxious and uncertain he was about what Po had to say to him, he kept his eyes (eye) locked firmly on the panda.

The black and white mammal smiled. "I forgive you", he declared.

Instead of unwinding, Zhong remained tense and rigid. He never thought he'd hear those words; especially not coming from Po. But like he'd said, the panda was an incredible man.

Still, he needed time to process the fact that the one who had probably suffered the most from his cruelty and savageness had just forgiven him. That he was forgiven.

He swallowed a lump in his throat and felt a tear collect in his eye. But he didn't wipe it away this time or try to hide it. He just let it fall down his face, unashamed. For the first time in his life, he wasn't afraid to cry.

He had greater things on his mind than fear of others thinking he was weak.

There were plenty of words he could have said next, but none of them would have even come close to describing the enormous feeling of gratitude swelling within him. 'Thank you' would just have to suffice though.

Po had been right to stick his guns. Because his unfinished business was all about Zhong – not just helping him, but forgiving him as well.

And now, both men felt content.

**((()-()))**

After he was done feeling touched, the first thing Zhong wanted to know was what was the noise he could hear coming from downstairs. It was barely audible from five floors up to Po and the Five, but since the wolves had much sharper ears than most animals Po supposed the sounds were crystal clear to them.

To answer his question, it was Saturday morning, and Saturday was the day one of the town bands always came to entertain the medical center's patients in the building's main entrance. After listening for a moment he could understand why the hospital had this arrangement. Their string instruments were very relaxing.

The second thing he wanted to know (his unanswered question from before) was what he had missed, and everyone was glad to fill him in.

"When they realized you weren't a corpse yet they went to work, but they didn't know if it'd do any good. They said we'd just have to wait and see. So we waited", Po explained.

Tigress joined in. "The royal guard found us our first day here. They knew where we'd take you", the feline said.

"They had us cornered, and we spent the whole day panicking. We couldn't risk moving you again without killing you, so we couldn't leave, but we couldn't stay either. Or so we thought", Monkey said, slyly at the last part. "Turns out the guard couldn't come in", the simian added, satisfied.

Zhong got what he was hinting at almost immediately. "Cause starting a fight in here to get us would risk hurting the city's sick and injured", the wolf boss realized.

Tai walked over, followed by Jing. "For now this place is a sanctuary", he said.

"Yeah but we don't trust them not to do something crazy anyway, so we've been keeping a close eye on them, like they've been keeping a close eye on us", his younger comrade added.

Just in case his commander didn't get him, the soldier pointed towards a nearby window. "They've taken residence in almost all the buildings surrounding this hospital. They don't want us trying to sneak out at night", Jing explained.

"Not that we want to", Koran said, joining the duo at Zhong's bedside. "We've stayed here as long as we had to to make sure you pulled through, but as soon as you're strong enough to walk again we're going to turn ourselves in, commander", he reported.

So that's what his men had decided in absence. Apparently, they were just as tired of a life on the run as he was.

Moreover, it'd been a long time since Koran spoke to his superior, his friend, with that much respect. A respect he'd seemed to have earned back recently. Another smile tugged at Zhong's lips.

"How long have we been here?", he asked.

"About five days", Po replied casually.

"_Five days_?", Zhong repeated, alarmed.

"The doc said your heartbeat went back to normal on the second day, your breathing on the third, and you just woke up today", the bear reasoned.

"But what have my men been doing cooped up in here for five days?", Zhong asked, concerned.

"A few of them have been searching the villagers checking in and out, making sure none are them are guardsmen. The rest the hospital staff have put to work. Especially Xen", Viper informed.

"They said, and I quote, 'You can never have too many doctors in a hospital'", Crane grinned, Jing sharing his jovial expression.

"And the guys actually went along with that?", Zhong asked.

"Yeah. They all figured we owed the workers for letting us stay here and protecting us from the guard. Besides, like you said helping people used to be our jobs. No matter how much some of us complained, I think we all enjoyed doing it again", Jing replied, saying what his brothers would never admit to.

"But things have been pretty weird - for the patients. Having felons in their hospital. I doubt they'd stayed if they didn't need to be here so badly, but most of them have gotten used to us with time – or at least learned to ignore us", he added.

"So all things considered, things have been going pretty smoothly while you were out", Tai finished.

"But it can't stay that way for long", Zhong replied. He turned to Po and his friends. "Dragon Warrior or not, you're my accomplice now. You won't get life, but you'll be penalized too. You shouldn't have helped me Po", the wolf said, though he knew what Po's response would be long before he said it.

"I don't regret doing it. None of us do", the bear replied.

"Just as I'm sure you don't regret coming to help us?", Tigress interjected.

Touché. She was obviously still grateful for what he did. Grateful enough to overlook what he had done before. He wouldn't say she had forgiven him yet, not quite; but she was getting there. The same went for the rest of the panda's teammates. He'd earned their trust though, and that's all that really mattered.

"Besides I've been to prison before and it's not that bad. The food certainly isn't as bad as people make it out to be", Po said optimistically.

"You'll probably eat it all", Zhong replied; his adult half wanting to be serious, but the kid in him unable to resist making another snarky comment at the panda's expense.

Not that it fazed the bear, or even annoyed him. Since he knew it was true. "Since I'm your accomplice we'll probably be cellmates", he reckoned. "We could always start a prison band if we get stir crazy. How does 'Tenacious D' sound to you?", he suggested, and for the life of him the wolf couldn't tell whether he was joking, to make light of a bad situation, or was genuinely serious.

"Terrible", he smirked.

The panda glanced at his friends around him (knowing they were all listening), and leaned in close to whisper into one of Zhong's ears. "Well with your songwriting skills, and my buddies' singing skills, we'd rock", he told him, just in case Zhong changed his mind later.

Songwriting skills. Now that Po had brought it up Zhong's mind went to the wrinkled scroll in his pack's camp, miles away, and that made him think of the she-wolf who'd improved it. The she-wolf who had been strangely quiet and reserved ever since he woke up. He'd expect that from Koran, but not a talkative girl like herself.

The war vet cleared his throat, more loudly than he needed to, getting everyone's attention. "You've all worried a lot about me this week, and I hope you don't think I'm repaying you by kicking you out as soon as I wake up, but I'd like to talk to Shu, in private, for a while", he requested, taking everyone (especially Shu) by surprise.

But no one minded; there were several nods and quiet murmurs of agreement before the wolves and kung fu masters started to file out of the hospital room.

Po was the last to go. Once he closed the door them, Zhong's only remaining visitor looked at him.

**((()-()))**

Meanwhile, Po found himself being stopped by Koran in the hallway. The canine wanted to speak to him, and whatever he had to say had to be mighty important.

"You kept your promise to me panda. I want to thank you", he said, a little gruff but sincerely thankful. He'd been trying to decide for a while what to say to the bear, considering the 'problem' he had being 'friendly' with people, and eventually decided short and sweet was the best way to go about it.

Po accepted it of course. He never turned down a 'thanks'.

Shaking the bear's paw, Koran stated "You're not too bad, for a hero".

And that was all he had to say before he walked off; in a different direction than Po and the others, who were going to watch the show downstairs. He was off to spread the news to the rest of the pack that their commander had awakened.

**((()-()))**

Zhong was intrigued. He thought Shu, out of everyone there, would be the most happy and excited about his recovery. But instead of being in high spirits she seemed almost worried about something. And he had a feeling it had something to do with what he'd been teasing her about earlier.

In the back of his mind he noted the band below them had changed tunes, but that hardly mattered any.

"So did you really mean what you said, about having feelings for me?", he asked.

Like he had expected, she hesitated. After all, it wasn't a question that could be answered easily if one's love interest wasn't at death door.

"Yeah", she admitted, ears flattening out of what Zhong assumed was embarrassment.

He'd teased her about it, but the fact of the matter was that Shu actually saw her crush on him as just that - the kind of a silly crush a school girl would have on a guy she knew would never be interested in her. After all, he was a soldier, who'd faced many hardships, and she was just a villager. What must she seem like to him?

"**_Flightless Bird, American Mouth_**" by Iron and Wine begins.

"What about you?", she asked nervously.

"Same here", the lupine replied, with no hesitation.

She didn't believe that. He could tell just by the way she was eyeballing him, trying to see if he was lying to her or putting her on. Even when she concluded he wasn't, she still wasn't satisfied.

"How do I know that's not just the near-death experience talking?", she questioned.

Zhong tiled his head to the side, admitting she had a point. "Alright then, I'll prove it to you", he decided, tossing his bed-sheet off him.

And then Zhong, a man who had been stabbed only five days prior, draped his legs over the side of the bed and hopped down to the floor. His landing wasn't as graceful as usual, but the fact he was even able to stand up was astounding.

"What are you doing?!", Shu exclaimed, rushing to his side.

The wolf smiled, amused, as she fussed over him and ordered him to get back into bed before he hurt himself. He also winced a little, but only just a little, at an echo of his previous aching in his chest.

"Relax, I've done this sort of thing before. The pain doesn't bother me, so long as I have something to take my mind off it. Something I care about. Like you", he said reassuringly, cupping the female's cheek. And again she could tell he wasn't lying. She didn't argue anymore, did she?

But Zhong didn't stop there. The wolf had a fiendish idea in his head on how to use Saturday to his advantage. Dropping his paw from her cheek, he took her hand in his. "Care to dance?", he asked.

**((()-()))**

The band certainly did it's job well, Po observed. He, the Five, Tai & Jing, and a few others had to sit on the floor since all the chairs in the waiting room had been moved to the side to make space for the musicians. The one place in Gongmen City you could always count on to be cold and depressing was now filled with music and life.

The patients were having a good time; especially the sick little kiddies who were not only in the presence of living legends (sitting right next to them), but enjoying a really good show. Some of them even got up and started to dance, like the pair of wolves upstairs.

**((()-()))**

Shu awkwardly wrapped her paws around Zhong's torso, not wanting to touch any sore spots and put him in any kind of pain he _couldn't_ ignore.

When she saw how he was looking at her, she was even more embarrassed. "I've never been much of a dancer", she confessed.

"That's okay. I've never been much of a romantic either. I'm a fighter, not a lover, so we're both out of our comfort zones", he replied, letting her know he wasn't the judging type. "Just follow my lead and try not to step on my toes. I'm already in a hospital", he joked.

Shu nodded, though she didn't think his joke was that funny.

When the music hit just the right moment, Zhong moved to his left, and she copied his movements. When he stepped backwards she stepped forward. And so on, and so on. By the time he started moving her in a circle she'd gained a little more confidence and found it easier to keep up.

**((()-()))**

The band just reached the bridge section when a new sound filled the building; on every floor, in almost every room. The sound of wolves howling. Including Tai and Jing.

Po and the Furious Five shot up, alarmed, and looked all around them for any sign of danger. But they found none, only the confused stares of little children that matched their own.

"I don't get it", Mantis said, speaking for everyone.

Po glanced at the two wolves they had with them. They weren't tensed for danger, and they didn't look like they were ready for a rumble. Heck, they weren't even standing up like Shifu's students were. The two lupines were still seated on the floor, swaying their heads to the music. The music they howling perfectly in tune with, Po realized.

'_A howl can be many things panda. A cry to war, a way of blowing off steam, a mourning of the dead, a song to one's loved one, or a song for any occasion_', Zhong had told him. He'd hardly listened then, but it sure cleared things up now.

The wolves weren't howling; they were crooning; just like the musicians.

Koran had spread the good news about Zhong to everyone; about how he had cheated death twice, and they probably hadn't felt this great about anything since before their banishment. With those supersensitive ears of theirs they could hear the band's performance wherever they were, and were enjoying it just as much as everyone else. In the mood they were in, they were losing themselves to the music and actually adding something to it, a new element that made it even better.

"They're singing", Po explained to his puzzled friends.

"What? These guys?", Monkey asked in a 'you've got to be kidding me' kind of tone.

But Po was already on the floor again, sitting between Tai and Jing, and doing what they were doing. There was no way he was going to miss out.

Of course he was a bear, not a wolf, and couldn't howl (he wasn't even sure what he was doing was called) but he didn't care. He got to sing a band after all.

**((()-()))**

The sound of a panda trying to howl was one of the funniest things Zhong had ever heard. Definitely grin-worthy.

By this point, Shu had grown accustomed to the wolf's way of moving, and adapted to it. The pair moved almost in synch. But even in his caring embrace, she still wasn't smiling. She still looked… conflicted.

She couldn't deny the older man was at least interested in her as well. And even though she still wasn't sure why, she knew it was wrong to lead him on.

"Zhong I love this, and I want it just as much as you do. But… I can't have what I want", she explained sadly. "We can't be together if we're about to be imprisoned", she explained.

So that's what she'd been worrying about. No doubt she'd been thinking all week that he was between life and death, and even if he pulled through she still couldn't have him.

"You know, we'll probably be sent to the same prison", he said hopefully.

"Where we'll be kept in separate cells", she countered.

"At least we'll get to see each other some of the time", Zhong reasoned.

"You're going to keep fighting me on this, aren't you?", she asked, getting annoyed.

"Yep", Zhong said, in a pleased kind of way. "Now listen, if there's anything these past few days have taught me it's that there are times you've just gotta screw common sense and trust your gut. Now's one of those times", he said. "So what does yours tell you?", he asked her.

The frown that had etched itself in her face began to soften, and her brows knitted with thought. She had never met anyone willing to putting himself in pain just to share a dance with her, or try so hard to sway her.

He was doing a good job. Cause as she stared that crazy, stubborn man in the eye, she was thinking he was the kind of guy (bandit or not) a girl should hang onto; no matter what got in her way. And even if there was a chance of heartbreak, she was thinking that maybe he was worth it.

That's why she grabbed him by the mohawk and laid one of him – doing what she'd wanted to do since the first time they kicked butt together.

She'd answered his question. She had embraced her true feelings, just like he had. Both knew there were no more chances at turning back or protecting themselves after this point, but neither one wanted to go back. They were sick and tired of worrying about the past and the future all the time. For once the future didn't matter to either one of them, only the present.

As they kissed, neither wolf had a care in the world.

And neither of them was aware of the bearded fortuneteller watching them dance from the mystical leaves in her cup of tea.

Far away from where they were, she smiled as she watched the former guard dog finally live life for at least one night.


	15. Chapter 15: Reckoning

**_Chapter 15: Reckoning._**

Two more days passed, and eventually Zhong was strong enough to walk without Shu's 'help'.

There was no point in putting things off any longer; he knew what he had to do. He just wished the hospital staff had some liquid courage lying around (as a precaution, in case his confidence waned). But since they didn't, he and his boys would just have to put on their usual show.

**((()-()))**

Benjamin had been waiting for this particular piece of good news all week. The head of the royal guard just learned from one of his men that the wolves (all the wolves) were leaving the hospital. They had no hostages, they weren't trying to run away; they were just quietly, stoically, leaving.

They walked down the street in rows of five. The Dragon Warrior and the village girl flanked the boss wolf, while the Furious Five made up the row behind them.

They weren't oblivious to the stares they were getting from all the Gongmenites on the streets, they were just trying their best not to pay them any attention. That didn't mean they were succeeding. Oddly enough, the townspeople didn't look as terrified of them as they expected them to be. They looked more confused and intrigued than they did afraid.

They were probably still trying to make sense of what they had seen the week before – Zhong taking a bullet for the same bear he once fought and then that bear becoming himself a fugitive to save a murderer.

The wolves also weren't oblivious to the large procession of royal guardsmen waiting for them at the end of the street. They'd been expecting Benjamin to bring the whole guard with him. Wanting them as badly as he did, he was going to make sure they didn't escape again.

Of course they may have had numbers on their side against the critically reduced wolf pack (not to mention weapons), but the wolves had the size advantage on the deer and antelope. And it showed when the canines came to a halt next to the guardsmen and towered over them, twice their height.

The lupine army glared at the one willing to let their commander perish.

Benjamin, ignoring them, raised his spear at their boss; his troops following his lead.

Zhong raised his eyebrow and folded his arms – his men immediately did the same, in one long domino effect. They were deliberately making themselves look even more intimidating, messing with their heads.

Everything and everyone tensed as the former and current royal guard stared each other down. The townspeople, keeping their distance, was clearly worried _another_ fight was about to break out in the middle of their city.

Benjamin was watching the canine commander's every move careful, expecting him to lunge at him any second.

But Zhong did no such thing.

He looked at Po.

Benjamin flinched and gripped his spear even tighter.

The wolf and the panda eyed each other for a moment, and nodded. Through wordless communication, they just agreed on something.

Zhong unfolded his arms and looked back at Benjamin. When Zhong's arms left his side and started moving towards him, the antelope made the first running steps towards the wolf – determined to land the first blow. But stopped when he realized the wolf wasn't attacking, and he wasn't moving his arms towards him; he was lifting them in the air – in surrender.

The domino effect occurred again, and three dozen pairs of arms shot up into the air, including those of the panda.

"We give up", the wolf boss declared, mimicking something Po had said to him not too long ago.

The Dragon Warrior grinned. "You heard the man, we surrender", he told the guard.

All the townspeople breathed a collective sighed of relief.

But Benjamin wasn't going to believe them that easily. Unwilling to turn his back to the war dog, he opened his palm and gestured for one his soldiers to come forward – with handcuffs. The deer dropped the restraining device in his hand.

Zhong lowered his arms and watched, looking almost amused, as the lead antelope moved cautiously towards him, his guard _way_ up.

Ben had to lower his head though to clap the cuffs on him, and for a few seconds where anything at all could have happened, the guardsmen left himself vulnerable to the banished one in order to secure him.

It was only when he heard the familiar clicking sound of cuffs locking (one he'd heard countless times before) that the antelope relaxed his stance.

His men ran forward and started securing the rest of the pack. They were captured, alive and without so much of a fight. The guardsmen felt a little weird, and guilty, about arresting the kung fu warriors who had saved them all that summer, but they had to follow orders and arrest anyone who broke the law.

When Benjamin stepped back he smirked in satisfaction (and poorly concealed delight) at the sight of Zhong Yu, Gongmen's most infamous _living_ criminal, in chains.

He was finally going to get what he deserved.

**((()-()))**

Po and his pals, ironclad, tried to keep a steady pace with the men pushing and pulling them towards the Sacred Tower of Flame. Talk about more Déjà vu.

Again, Shifu's students tried to ignore the stares of all the villagers as they reached the end of another, more familiar, street. Po could see the city council had rebuilt the stone walls surrounding the courthouse/former home of the royal family. But he couldn't see anything on the other side, compared to the good old days when the building they hid could be seen for miles around.

Speaking of the city council, he imagined they weren't going to be very pleased to see him. He'd find out soon enough.

Because as those two large wooden doors swung inward and they were forced inside, the panda realized Gongmen City's most iconic building had indeed been rebuilt. Sort of.

There were only two floors so far, out of the twelve the famed tower used to have. Po figured that since they were only 1/6th of the way through reconstruction, the rest would take a while to complete.

Some other, smaller, buildings had already been completed though. New living accommodations for the masters who used to reside in the sacred tower and would otherwise be homeless until the structure's completion. The same masters who were waiting for them in the courtyard as the guilty party arrived to face judgment.

Masters Storming Ox and Croc did not look happy, just as Po predicted.

Benjamin did though, along with a few other guardsmen lining the walls. The courthouse doors swung close behind them – keeping what went on in the courtyard private and concealed from the general public (no matter how much they wanted to know what would befall their favorite heroes).

**((()-()))**

Po held his breath as two older, more experienced masters circled him and his handcuffed friends. He had almost forgotten how unnerving it was being on the wrong side of the law.

After they were done sizing up their former comrades in battle and their former adversaries, the two stopped in front of them and finally spoke what was on their mind.

"So we ask for your help, and the day you arrive the court starts getting all these weird eyewitness accounts of Shifu's warriors fighting alongside a man who's supposed to be dead – perished in the flames of Gongmen Wharf… three months ago", Ox said, narrowing his eyes at Zhong and his followers.

"And then after nightfall, almost everyone claims to have seen you with not just him, but his entire pack. Though it seems to be smaller in number now", Croc observed.

"They watched you carry his body halfway across the city, while your friends assaulted our men", Ox continued, scowl deepening.

"And all those reports were confirmed when you 'camped out' in our hospital all week", Croc finished.

"So what do you have to say for yourself?", Ox asked the Dragon Warrior, in a tone that reminded him a lot of a mother scolding her kids.

Po paused, thinking for a moment, before shrugging. "Sometimes a bear's gotta do what a bear's gotta do", he said, summing it up the best he could.

No one was amused.

Croc raised his eyebrow and walked towards Zhong, neither glaring nor beaming with happiness. He had no problem being so close to such a dangerous man; not just because he was handcuffed, but because he was a dangerous man as well.

Zhong flinched. Not because someone was invading his personal space (he had invaded other's personal spaces much worse), but because it was _Croc_ invading his personal space. Someone he had hurt almost as badly as Po. And while he had just succeeded in being able to look Po in the eye without feeling guilty, he had built up no such tolerance to the master's judging gaze.

"The man before us is more than just a wanted criminal and a traitor – he's a killer. Someone who's not only ruined countless lives and left a wave of destruction wherever he went, but indirectly caused the death of our mentor and _friend_ – Master Flying Rhino", Croc reminded the panda.

If he and Zhong had been having a staring contest the wolf would have lost; because he dropped his head to his chest and stared down at his feet.

There was once a time he was proud of what Shen had done to the reptilian's friend, when he taunted the Dragon Warrior about it - a time when he was a monster. But he wasn't that monster anymore. The man he was now couldn't think about the monstrous acts he had committed then, the ones he had enjoyed, without feeling an even bigger, more painful hole in his chest than the ones Shen and Gwayne had created. And like a shamed child he had to look away.

But he wasn't the only one losing his military bravado. His men's poker faces were slipping as well, ranging from unease to pure guilt (Tai and Jing especially). Even those who had been deadest on not showing an ounce of emotion besides courage in the face of death or a lifetime of imprisonment felt their ears flattening against their head (Lon included).

Shu, who had no such sin on her conscience, watched her Good Samaritan be reprimanded over and over again, punished every time one of the masters brought up a memory he'd rather like to forget. All she could do to help him and keep him steady was place her paw on his shoulder, reminding him he wasn't alone.

Croc stepped to the side so his buddy Ox could join him.

"There are so many people who'd love to see you strung up for what you're done, and understandably so", he said, perhaps the harshest statement the oxen had ever said to anyone.

Po had heard enough.

"If you're going to condemn him, you'll have to do the same to me", he declared, gaining the duo's attention.

"And if you're going to lock up Po, you have to do it to us as well", Tigress added. The others all agreed with her of course.

But what they were saying only made Zhong feel worse. It was bad enough he had damned himself by following the peacock and dragging his pack down with him, but even now he was still ruining the lives of good people like the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five by involving them in his affairs.

Croc raised his eyebrow. "You seem to be pretty loyal to him now. Though I suppose you all have a good reason to be", he reckoned. "He may be a ruthless soldier of war, but recently he's shown bravery, honor, and self-sacrifice. Some of the most admirable traits a warrior can and should have", he mused.

Tigress froze. "Wait… how do you know that?", the feline questioned.

"She explained everything. Some things she showed us as they were happening, some before", Ox explained.

He and his friend stepped a few feet to the side to reveal the bearded goat, who had apparently come up behind them (unseen) during all the Zhong bashing. The soothsayer who acted as Po's spiritual guide every time he came to her hometown.

_'You and I are going to be seeing each other again real soon_'. Another prediction of hers come true.

Po, still shackled, waved his paw at her and the old woman nodded back, smiling.

Ox, ignoring Zhong for the moment, decided it was time for some explanations. "She's really the reason you're all here. When we needed someone to go undercover to catch the Yan-Li we asked her for her opinion and she suggested you, of all our allies. She didn't tell us why, just that she thought you'd be best for the job. Now we know why. What she had foreseen", the oxen filled everyone in.

While Ox turned his attention back to Zhong, Croc walked over to Po. "She's been a trusted friend for years and we still hardly believed any of what she told us, about you and the wolves, until your stand-off with the guard. It seemed this was your real purpose for being here, uniting the wolves", the reptile said.

"And from the looks of it you did a pretty good job", Ox noted, taking in the thirty-some lupines gathered in the courtyard.

"Well now that we're all here, just what are you going to do to me?", Zhong asked irritably, tired of everyone getting off topic and beating around the bush.

Benjamin was tired of all the stalling as well, so he didn't mind the offender interrupting his mentors. This was the part he'd been waiting for.

"_Us_. What are you going to do to _us_", Po corrected him, making the lupine groan.

Ox rubbed his chin while Croc scratched his head. "Well, you've all been aiding war criminals. The correct punishment for you would be at least a few years in prison. But the wolves…", Croc said, trailing off.

"The politically correct thing to do would be to execute you all for your crimes against China. Give the people the justice they're waited years for", Ox stated.

A few of the guardsmen felt grins stretching from one end of their face to the other.

"You mean revenge?", Zhong asked coldly.

"Correct", Croc replied, before his neutral expression softened into one of thoughtfulness. "But… that's not really the kung fu way, is it?", the reptile mused.

"Nor is it the way of this court", Ox added.

Benjamin's grin started to disappear.

The oxen in charge turned to Po. "Fate brought you back to our city to save a life, since so many had already been lost But it also brought you back to right a few wrongs", he informed the panda.

"Sure we could execute you all, but what would be the point of that? More senseless bloodshed, right Dragon Warrior?", Croc asked.

Benjamin was stunned, and so was Po, for a different reason. He had expected a lot of different things to happen that day, but he never expected Ox and Croc to agree with his point of view. Something even his own teammates had had a hard time doing. Then again, the council had had a whole week to think about what they were going to do to the wolf bandits.

"You proved there's still hope for these men; some of them wish to undo the damage they caused. So instead of ending them, why not give them a chance to do just that and regain some of the honor they've lost?", Ox suggested.

By this point Benjamin (and a few of his comrades) was horrified; getting where his master was going. Zhong got it too, and the one-eyed canine looked at the oxen in wonder and astonishment. His hopes were slowly rising, and he prayed to the gods he wasn't foolish for letting them do so.

"Does that mean?", the commander asked, reluctant and still carefully guarded.

"Yes. Gongmen is still in shambles, along with much of China. Even this building we're standing in front of now, the first to be tended to, isn't even close to being finished yet. So who better to build it back up than the ones who knocked it down?", the crocodile master grinned, making it sound like they were schoolchildren.

"You can pay back your _enormous_ debts to society with hard physical labor. Not to mention taking your old jobs back", Ox recommended.

Po felt like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. His already round jade green eyes bugged to enormous size, and the bear stuttered slightly as he forced his vocal cords to cooperate with him. "Y-You're kidding. You're giving them community service?", he asked incredulously.

If Benjamin wasn't so furious, and if he was foolish enough to speak without being spoken to, he would have asked the same.

"It's no secret we're shorthanded; we have been for a long time now. It's not easy finding new recruits, and it takes years to train the ones we do have. We need more experienced men, who can neutralize a threat quickly and help us train the ones we've been forced to send out into the field too soon. You all seem willing to reform, so this can benefit all of us. And if it doesn't work out, we can always throw you in prison", Croc rationalized casually. Then he shrugged. "But if you would rather just go to prison now…", he offered.

"No!", Po and Zhong said immediately.

Ox smirked. "Besides, 'community service' makes it sound like you're all off the hook. Not even close. Your jobs will include rebuilding our entire city from the ground up, keeping out criminals like the Yan-Li who might try to take advantage of our lowered defenses, help with any and every crisis that might arise. That's a lot of hard work for just thirty wolves. Might be easier just to go to prison", Ox reasoned.

"No! Trust me, they're used to working hard!", Po insisted, roping Zhong around the neck and pointing at all the burly lupine's muscles.

Zhong probably would have minded if he wasn't so quick to agree with the panda. "We practically live for it", he lied smoothly. Behind him, Shu snickered, along with most of the Furious Five and the boss wolf's friends.

The bearded fortuneteller, who had remained a silent witness so far, stepped forward. "It's your decision Zhong", she said.

And it was. But he'd made a promise to himself that the next big decision he'd make on behalf of the pack would be the right one. So before he did anything, he wanted to know what _they_ wanted.

He turned to his men. "What do you say boys? Sound like a good deal to you?", he inquired.

Benjamin meanwhile was shaking his head in denial, '_no, no, no!_' running through his head.

Zhong hadn't expected anyone to say no, to tell him it wasn't a good deal, and no one did. Thirty shouts and barks of encouragement filled the courtyard, some more colorful than others.

Grinning, the fugitive leader turned back to the Gongmen council. "I think it's a unanimous decision", he said.

"Then your sentence is a lifetime of serving your city and your country", Ox declared.

"And as for the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five, since you all have such minor offenses, aiding and abetting, we'll charge you a fine and let you all off with a warning – this time. You can return to the Valley of Peace whenever you choose to", Croc said, beckoning for some of the guardsmen to come unlock their cuffs.

Not Benjamin of course. The antelope was still in shock, and wondering if the world had gone crazy.

Shu cleared her throat rather loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Uh, what about me?", she asked the masters, as their soldiers, one-by-one, set free everyone free but her.

"Oh, right, sorry. A small fine and a slap on the wrist, same as the others", Croc said sheepishly, having forgotten the she-wolf was even present.

The female was satisfied once she could bend her hands again, but was taken by surprise when the guard who freed them _literally_ slapped her on the wrist.

The wolves had never been louder; the domino effect working in the extreme as cheers and laughter erupted from the pack. They were fugitives no longer; now they were convicts – which sounded even more badass, to tell you the truth. Most importantly, they were back to their true calling.

But ironically it was Zhong who forced them all to quiet down. A thought had just occurred to him, and he felt like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner.

He turned to Ox and Croc again. "But the villagers… they'll never go for this. None of them will want us here around their families", he reasoned, and his packmates groaned when they realized he was right about the hitch. Po did the same – they were so close, and yet they still couldn't win.

Croc smiled mischievously. "Some certainly will reject you; some will probably even ask us to exile you again. But not all of them. Some, like your friend the panda, are more open to change than you'd think", he replied. Before Zhong could argue some more, the reptile's friend started barking out orders.

"Open the gates!", Ox shouted.

"**_Boe_**" by Murray Gold begins.

The wolves and Shifu's students turned around to face the palace walls as two wooden doors were pushed open again, exposing the courtyard and it's inhabitants to the villagers on the other side looking in.

There were so many more of them now. While there had been a couple dozen lining both sides of the street before, the entire road was now filled with what looked to be a hundred ducks, geese, pigs, goats and deer – a fraction of the city's population. A few of them Po recognized as the Gongmenites watching him the night he carried Zhong to the hospital. They'd come to know more about the connection between Master Shifu's famed protégés and the banished wolves, and all of them awaited answers from their beloved city council.

To Zhong's surprise, the crowd still didn't look that angry with him and his men, though they had every reason to be. Sure _some_ of them were glaring at the lupine commander, but most seemed keenly anticipant for one of the council to speak.

Ox was the one who relieved them of their suspense.

"Behold, the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five; I'm sure you already know of them", he said, pointing towards the kung fu masters. He then pointed at the wolves. "And I'm sure of you know of these men as well. Because of them, the bandits who've been robbing our culture of it's treasures have been captured, and our city is safe again", he continued. He focused a single finger solely on Zhong. "And because of this man, your Dragon Warrior still lives today. He's a hero; he and his entire clan", the oxen declared.

The city was quiet afterwards. Much too quiet for that time of the day. No one knew what to say or do next. Instead of making sense of things, all Ox did was confirm the impossible thought that had already been in their heads all week.

The pack tried to conquer their home. They made many of them feed them, cater them under the threat of violence. And Ox wanted them to believe the disgraced canines could ever be heroes again?

One little girl agreed.

Over a hundred and fifty eyes (including those of her parents) zeroed in on the goat, one of the few who had witnessed both Zhong and Po's sacrifices close up, as she clapped her paws together. She, like all Gongmenites, had heard about all Zhong Yu; but she'd also heard about the Yan-Li, and the danger they posed to whatever community they came to. She was thanking Zhong for what he had done for her town and her hero.

And she wasn't alone.

Encouraged by the girl's bravery, her friends (who had been right by her side that night) joined in. Their little paws made a big noise, echoing up and down the unnaturally quiet street and resonating in Zhong's ears. More than just his ears really, all of him.

Maybe they were clapping because they were too young to know the full severity of the lupines' crimes. Too young to understand 'genocide' meant mass murder. Or maybe they did understand, but a child's innocence made them much more forgiving than adults; more willing to look past one's sins and see the good as well as the bad. The potential only unbiased eyes could see. Either way, they were cheering for the one-eyed soldier and his battalion.

And soon they weren't alone.

An even louder handclap mixed in, this one coming from a pig further down the road. The swine, like Po, had always wondered (from childhood to adulthood) how royal guards could go so wrong, turn out so evil. Despite everything they'd done, all the horrific tales surrounding them, he'd always suspected the men weren't really evil, but lost souls who'd allowed themselves to be corrupted and used, and steered off the right path. Now his theory was proved correct. From what Ox said, they'd finally answered the call of duty again. And that was worth clapping for.

A goose thought so too apparently, since she was the next to find the courage to stand up.

Up until now she hadn't been sure what to make of Lord Shen's wolves. She was a pacifistic woman and hated senseless death and violence, therefore it only made sense she'd hate them. But at same time, she had found herself pitying them when she learned how many of them had died by the harbor that year, a victim of their own madness and dishonorable acts. But if what Ox said was true, the survivors had already taken the first, hardest steps to finding their honor again. For reasons she would probably never know, they wanted to redeem themselves (for real. Because Ox and Croc would know if they were insincere). And if that's what they wanted, who was she to object? She was going to encourage them. Along with a few others.

By now more than a few men, women, and children were cheering for the lupines. Not everyone of course. Out of the hundred villagers there, at least 60% were looking at their friends and neighbors in the same shocked and appalled way Benjamin was.

But Zhong didn't care about them. The fact that just that minority was cheering for him and his boys was enough to put a grin the size of China on his face.

Then he felt the panda next to him poke him in the ribs.

He glanced at the bear who'd elbowed him, interested.

"Congrats on the slow clap. Only the really big heroes get one of those. Took me forever to get mine", Po said cheerily, giving the boss wolf a thumbs up.

The soothsayer, hidden from view by all the wolves and kung fu masters, was in a particularly good mood as well. The long game that was Zhong Yu's destiny had finally come to an end, and she couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.


	16. Chapter 16: A New Path (Prodigal)

**_Chapter 16: A New Path (Prodigal)._**

Some wanted to give the formerly felonious wolves a second chance. Others were enraged when Ox got to the second part of his speech and announced that the pack was being re-inducted into the royal guard, as part of their punishment. But the decision had already been made and there was nothing any of them could do to change it. They would just have to get used to it, and hopefully move on with their lives.

God, things in Gongmen were going to be so awkward from now on; _for everyone_.

They certainly couldn't 'camp out' in the hospital anymore, so the wolves spent the night in the palace grounds; away from the general population in an area where Ox and Croc could keep a close eye on them.

There weren't any empty buildings for them to move into (besides the incomplete Tower of Flame), so they had to sleep in tents for the time being (they'd construct their own living quarters later). Not that they minded; during the early days of their exile they had gotten very, very used to sleeping in tents. No one complained (much), especially since the panda and his comrades had to sleep the same way.

The head wolf's girlfriend however had to go home for the night. She didn't want to - camping out seemed way more fun than going back to her boring hut - but she had no choice in the matter. She wasn't a member of the royal guard, or a visitor to the city, so she belonged at home, in town with the other villagers. Besides they were already stretched to the limit as it was when it came to space.

While his exhausted men passed out almost as soon as they hit the ground, Zhong wanted (or rather needed) to know something before he turned in. Why had Masters Ox and Croc shown mercy on him when he was partly responsible for the death of their best friend?

They were very honest with him. They wouldn't have sentenced him to death, or allowed any of their guard to kill any of his men unless it was in self-defense; Master Storming Rhino wouldn't have wanted anger or a lust for vengeance to consume them. But they had been fully prepared to (if they ever caught him) let him rot in prison.

They saw him the same way he used to see himself - a beast, with a warped mind like his partner-in-crime Shen. A beast they wouldn't kill, for it wouldn't bring their best friend back, but would keep locked up, away from the innocent people they needed to protect.

Imagine their surprise when the third member of their council changed the perception of him they thought would always be set in stone in their minds.

Everything Po experienced that day he encountered, by pure chance, the boss wolf in the woods, so did they.

It took them a little longer than Po to come to terms with this change, even longer than the Furious Five. They were almost grateful the wolves waited a week to face them in court, because they needed all seven of those days to get their heads straight and clear again.

Once they reached the conclusion the wolves weren't as warped as they thought, and that some, like Zhong, actually were repentful, they started to think that maybe Po's stance on the matter wasn't as absurd as his friends made it out to be. Obviously they couldn't just let the canines roam free and keep hiding away in their woods forever, but like they said that afternoon if the wolves were willing to switch sides again, maybe they could arrange for them to do just that.

The two masters spent the better part of the week arguing the pros and cons of such a risky deal with the renegades (how it could potentially help or hurt their citizens, and the pack itself), while their third member patiently awaited the wolf boss' awakening (that she knew was coming in the near future).

When they finally met the one-eyed wolf again in court, they decided to size him up, judge his character for themselves up close, before they made their offer – just to be on the safe side.

It was only then, when he was certain the city officials had no ulterior motives hidden up their sleeves, the wolf boss was able to sleep soundly with the rest of his troops.

**((()-()))**

So the wolf problem was taken care of, and the Yan-Li were incarcerated (having been tried and convicted the day after their capture); including those three croc bandits the Five had completely forgotten about in the wake of Zhong's 'death'.

So as the sun rose the next morning, and the masters walked down the streets of Gongmen, greeting all the passerbies, they had no more reason to stay, right?

Wrong.

The boat that would take them (and a few other travelers) downriver to the next town wouldn't return until the following day. Not that anyone minded. The townspeople especially.

Extra time before the visiting heroes' departure would give the Gongmenites chance to throw a celebration in their honor, for saving the day once again. The Furious Five were used to the sort of thing, having been in the hero business for a long time, but Po never got tired of it. He considered it one of the perks of his job. While he was in the area, he made sure he checked out the square where the party would take place, and watched the villagers set it all up (hurrying more than usual since they only had until sundown).

Of course, if the party was to celebrate the heroes of the hour, that included the wolves as well. Po was almost certain they wouldn't want to go, given they were used to _avoiding_ people. When he and his friends returned to the Tower of Flame building site, he asked the boss wolf about it and the middle-aged canine completely agreed with him.

Most of the city's residents didn't want them around, motivated by fear and anger, and the pack wanted to stay out of their way as much as they could, motivated by shame. The general public still had a long way to go before they'd get used to the wolves even being around as civil servants again; if all of them came to the party that night it would be a disaster.

But when Po asked if just he came, as an ambassador of sorts for his entire clan, the lupine didn't answer him. Instead of shooting down the idea immediately, like he had the previous one, Zhong looked like he was actually thinking it over. Which meant it was a good one.

But before Po could get that answer, the one-eyed dog found a distraction.

Ox and Croc and the others had returned.

While Po and the Furious Five spent the morning in town, the council and some of the royal guard they chose to take with them spent the morning in the forest, collecting the wolves' possessions from their camp; including clothing.

The canines had been wearing the same clothes for more than a week - since the night they rushed off to fight the Yan-Li - and were far past the point of 'starting to smell'. Before Ox and Croc left, they'd ordered the remainder of their guard to get each and every one of the wolves to take a bath before they got back (no matter how they had to do it). There was a line of wild dogs outside the palace bathhouse for hours that morning.

Meanwhile, Ox and Croc lead their men into the woods not just because they knew where the wolves' camp was (the soothsayer having seen it's exact location), but also because they wanted to see, with their own eyes, the place the pack had hidden from them for three months. The cabins were physical proof after all, of what Zhong's men were capable of when they put all their might to constructive use.

The royal guard returned with boxes stacked high in their arms, filled with stuff the wolves recognized. Stuff they'd fill their new home with once it was built. But at the moment, the most important thing was that the canines were clean _and_ had fresh clothes. Homemade clothes that would just have to do until royal guard uniforms, wolf-sized, could be tailored.

Zhong couldn't help but notice (even if the rest of his men didn't) that once Benjamin set down his last box, scowling, Master Croc pulled him aside for a moment so they could talk. Talk about the changes upon them that would benefit their city; changes he and his fellow guardsmen would have to accept over time, whether they liked it or not.

Po couldn't hear every word of Croc's stern warning like he could, but he saw what the wolf was staring at.

"He was going to let you to bleed to death", Po said.

"I know", Zhong replied quietly. He hadn't forgotten anything the bear told him about what happened after he blacked out.

"You're not angry about that", Po observed.

"No", Zhong shook his head. "Put yourself in his shoes. He lost his master, who made him everything he is today, and his replacement is the guy who helped end his life", Zhong said understandingly – almost sympathetic. Po was surprised he held no grudges, but at the same time not so surprised.

"You know he's going to be your student now. No matter how much Ox and Croc try to keep him in line, he won't accept what you have to teach", the panda warned him.

"More than just him", Zhong said calmly. To say they were discussing such a worrying topic, he didn't act all that worried. If anything he seemed resigned to a thought in his head.

"Well what are you going to do?", Po asked.

"There's nothing I can do, except hope he'll be willing to keep any hatred he has towards me separate from his duty from now on", the war dog said simply. Nothing good ever happened when things in the guard got personal.

Both he and the panda bear watched as Croc left Benjamin to fume for a while. The antelope turned and glowered at the pair before going about his business.

**((()-()))**

Koran had already retrieved all his clothes from the jumble of boxes the guard brought back, so he had hardly been expecting one of the guardsmen to pull at his shirt and hand him one more item.

Zhong meanwhile, was looking through the mostly empty pile of boxes for his possessions. Since he was the last to search it was made all the more easier since his packmates had removed anything that wasn't his.

He found what he was looking for (relieved it hadn't been left behind back in camp), and cradled a box filled with paper in his arms. Paper he had poured all his thoughts and experiences onto that summer.

Someone cleared their throat behind him, and Zhong, expecting it to be the panda again, turned around to come face to face with Koran. Holding his hammer. The canine looked very awkward, something Zhong hadn't seen him be in years, as he handed the commander his weapon of choice.

Zhong wordlessly shifted the weight of the box entirely on his right arm, and used the left to hold onto his familiar mallet; Koran wasted no time in explaining things.

"We left this behind in the Yan-Li's hideout… we were all in a hurry. But these guys found it searching the place. They knew it was one of ours and wanted me to give it back to whoever it belonged to", he clarified, again missing his usual confidence.

"Thanks", Zhong said and his old friend nodded. But didn't leave. He scratched his neck uncomfortably, but didn't leave. Zhong raised his eyebrow, and Koran knew the one-eyed wolf well enough to know he was about to say something, so he sighed and decided it was time to get some things off his chest.

"I want to apologize-", he started.

"You have nothing to apologize for", Zhong interrupted; curiosity vanishing completely from his face to be replaced by seriousness, now that he knew where Koran was headed.

"But I do", Koran insisted. "It was wrong for me to put all the blame on you for our banishment. You may have been blinded by the dreams of a psychopath, but you didn't make us follow you. It was all our choice", he reasoned, the usually prideful dog now humbled.

His eyes lowered. "I guess it was just easier for us, and me, to tell ourselves you ruined us than admit we brought the last thirty years of hell on ourselves too. The fact is, we both did wrong by each other", he admitted.

Zhong, knowing where the wild dog was coming from, put his box down on the ground, freeing one hand so he could then put that one hand to good use. Walking to his side, he patted his old friend on the back. "Well, your apology's accepted", he said reassuringly.

Knowing that did seem to ease Koran's guilt. "Same here", he responded, comfort returning.

Zhong glanced down at the hammer he was wielding, and raised it up for both men to see. "Remember how excited we were the day the guard inducted us? We were supposed to craft our own weapons, and you were always the better builder so we forged this baby together", he reminisced, bopping the hammer against his palm. "We were close like that then. Used to go around saying we were brothers all the time", he said fondly.

"Yeah", Koran said, remembering that as well.

Zhong turned towards the wolf standing beside him. "Are we still brothers?", he asked cautiously.

Koran, taking his eyes off the hammer to look at it's owner, thought for a moment. Though truthfully, there wasn't much to think about. "Yeah we are", he replied, lips tugging upwards; Zhong's doing the same.

And just like that, a friendship that had been estranged for nearly a lifetime had mended. Wounds were finally beginning to heal.

When Koran left, Zhong put his hammer on the ground as well and used both his hands to reach into his box, extracting an all-too familiar scroll he had written back in a much bleaker time. By the time he met Po again, he had given up on it and all it stood for. But now…

Now he had to find Ox and Croc and ask them (he never thought he'd have to _ask_ anyone for anything again after Shen) if he could make a trip into town. Well, two trips actually.

**((()-()))**

Shu was so stressed out.

When she woke up that morning all the she-wolf had wanted to do was indulge her desires to be lazy (god knows she'd earned it), and visit her friends at the palace. But no such luck.

Turns out her store, which had had very little customers before, was _packed_ now that everyone knew she knew the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five, and had actually helped them on their adventure. And of course they asked her so many questions, wanting to know _everything_ that had transpired.

She spent the whole morning selling things to people from all walks of life. And it was only noon. So she groaned aloud when her door opened again, and she had to walk up front to greet another customer.

But it turned out to be Zhong waiting for her.

Her face almost lit up in excitement, until he spoke. "You look terrible", he noted.

Feeling the chill of her icy cold stare, he moved past that quickly. "Want to go to a party tonight?", he offered, grinning. She looked like she could use the leisurely time.

**((()-()))**

Like Zhong said, thirty wolves with not-so-great reputations showing up in the middle downtown would have been a disaster. But like Po said, one wolf with a not-so-great reputation showing up to speak on behalf of all his brethren wouldn't be so bad. It certainly wouldn't cause a panic.

It actually turned out to be _two_ wolves who came; the leader of the pack and his plus one. After all, Shu played a part in the fight against the Yan-Li, so the celebration was for her too.

A lot of people looked nervous around the canine and his date, but some looked almost glad to see him. No doubt the fearless few wanted to bombard him with questions like they had Shu.

There were plenty of opening speeches. The villagers gave one, thanking the honored heroes for all their good work. The Dragon Warrior gave one back, thanking them for throwing him and his friends such an awesome bash. There were speeches from the council, further explaining what the future would hold for all of them. And eventually, Zhong (like he'd known he would) was asked to speak his mind.

He told them what he thought would best placate the anxious townspeople.

"We're not here to cause any trouble. And if we did cause trouble, the thirty of us would have to worry about getting jumped on by a thousand angry bunnies before the guard could even lift a finger."

A few people actually got a laugh out of that. Maybe he should have been a comedian.

Anyway, once the awkward part was over, the actual fun part of the evening commenced. Another of the town bands started playing, and villagers started dancing; choosing (for the time being) not to worry about the one-eyed wolf present at the festivities.

Having been separated from his plus one, Zhong walked off to go find her. Po was also looking for someone. He'd already thanked the villagers, but there was someone else he needed to acknowledge for their support.

Shu smiled pleasantly when her date tapped her on the shoulder. "Want to take another crack at dancing?", he suggested.

She hardly turned him down, but she was surprised by how eager he was to lead her out onto the dance floor. Heck, she was surprised he even wanted to come to the shindig, knowing it would mean being under scrutiny. But he hardly seemed to care about the watchful eyes of the other dancers as he and Shu slipped into their positions from before; the band playing a new, slow song.

"**_Man in the Mirror_**" by Michael Jackson begins.

She didn't recognize the melody, having never heard it before, but her mouth fell open when the lyrics started.

_I'm gonna make a change for once in my life. It's gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference, gonna make it right. _

She looked at the band and then her grinning dance partner. "That's…that's your song", she stuttered, stunned. Zhong nodded.

"Before I stopped by your place this afternoon I may have come here first and gave the band a request", he explained.

"You finished it?", she realized.

"I've had a lot to think about lately. A lot of 'inspiration' to get the juices flowing", he said, pointing at his head.

_As I turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat, this wind is blowing my mind. I see the kids in the street with not enough to eat. Who am I to be blind, pretending not to see their needs?_

"They're singing your song", Shu repeated, trying to let it all sink in.

"Well, no one knows _I_ wrote it. There are some things about me I still want to keep to myself… and close friends", he replied mischievously.

_A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top and a one man's soul. They follow each other on the wind ya' know'… Cause they got nowhere to go… That's why I want you to know…!_

_I'm starting with the man in the mirror; I'm asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer… If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself, and then make a change. _

_Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah._

Shu's grin widened exponentially. "You even kept in my part", she said.

"Well, it is the part that makes it memorable", he admitted. He was mid-shrug when Shu threw her arms around him and pulled the bigger wolf into a hug. Something he was getting a lot of lately.

_I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love. It's time I realize there are some with no home, not a nickel to loan. Could it be really me, pretending that they're not alone?_

Meanwhile, Po found Tigress (who was just standing around all by her lonesome) and started talking to his striped teammate.

"Ti, I wanna say thanks", he explained himself to the intrigued feline. "I know we didn't exactly see eye-to-eye on the whole Zhong issue, but this whole trip you've really been looking out for me. Besides my dad, I've never had anyone who cares about me as much as you and the Five", he said, a little sheepishly.

It brought a rare smile to her face. "We're friends Po; friends look out for each other", she replied simply but equally as modest as the panda had been.

_A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart, and a washed-out dream. They follow the pattern of the wind ya' see, cause they got no place to be. That's why I'm starting with me!_

"Yeah, they do", Po agreed with her. Their argument from before had already been forgotten and left behind in the past; both cared too much about the other to hold any ill will for what might have been said in a heated moment. Thus there were no apologies needed.

Po shuffled his feet and looked at some of the other villagers. He had said what he wanted to, so why was he still so nervous? He glanced at her from of his eye.

_I'm starting with the man in the mirror; I'm asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer… If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself, and then make a change. _

"Hey Tigress, here's a crazy idea. Would you like to…dance?", he asked slowly, before bracing himself for disappointment.

Tigress blinked. "Dance?", she repeated.

"As friends", Po added quickly. "Since we're friends. You just said we were", he reminded the feline, before getting a grip and studying the cat's reaction.

Instead of shooting him down effective immediately, the feline actually bit her lip; like she was _thinking about it_.

He actually had a chance. And he had to capitalize on it fast.

"Come on, it's a party! It's traditional, almost mandatory, to have fun at a party", he coaxed, beckoning towards the dance floor.

_I'm starting with the man in the mirror; I'm asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer… If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself, and then make that change!_

Fun. She had never been very good at having fun. She was always such a serious cat. All that enthusiasm and zest for life she had had as a little girl had been drained out of her from all those years spent in Bao Gu. But Po had a funny way of helping people find things they'd lost.

And after everything he and his friends had been through in Gongmen City, they'd all earned this time to have fun. Including her.

So she could continue to be stoically resigned, or she could let herself enjoy herself.

She knew she'd regret it, but she took the panda up on his offer.

_I'm starting with the man in the mirror, oh yeah! I'm asking him to change his ways; you better change! No message could have been any clearer… If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself and then make the change! You gotta get it right while you got the time, 'cause when you close your heart then you close your mind!_

The couples in the crowded square, Zhong and Shu included, separated so they could clap their paws (and hooves) to the final portion of the song.

_That man, that man with that man in the mirror, oh yeah! I'm asking him to change his ways, better change! No message could have been any clearer… If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself and then make a change! Hoo! Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, oh yeah! Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah! Ooooh… _

Zhong smirked and whispered into Shu's ears. "I didn't write all this by the way. They're totally improvising now", he informed his lady friend.

"I don't mind", she whispered back.

_Oh no, no, no. I'm gonna make a change… It's gonna feel real good! Come on! Change… Just lift yourself! You've got to stop it yourself! Yeah! Make That Change! I've got to make that change, today! Man in the Mirror! You got to not let yourself brother! Yeah! Make that change! You know! I've got to get that man, that man in the mirror!_

A certain panda shook his head to a song a certain friend of his had written. Tigress reluctantly tapped her toes, but the bear encouraged her to do more than that, and got the feline to clap along with him and the others. And she had to admit; it was fun being a part of something instead of just standing to side like she always did.

_You've got to you've got to move! Come on! Come on! You got to stand up! Stand up! Stand up! Stand up and lift yourself, now! Man in the Mirror! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Aaow! Yeah! Make that change! Gonna make that change! Come on! Man in the Mirror!_

_You know it! You know it! You know it! You know…_

_Change…_

_Make that change…_

The crowd roared with applause. The song was over, but Tigress didn't let that bother her. She and Po still had the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that. They had the whole rest of the night.


	17. Chapter 17: Dragons and Wolves

**_Chapter 17: Dragons and Wolves._**

"**_The Doctor Forever_**" by Murray Gold begins.

They'd been in Gongmen City for ten whole days. It was time to go home.

It was also time for Po to say good-bye to Gongmen City again - the place that had given him the answers to so many questions he'd had - and a few friends as well.

The courtyard surrounding the Sacred Tower of Flame was calm and peaceful. Master Storming Ox, Master Croc, and the soothsayer all bowed their heads before their peers. The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five gladly returned the favor, all three council members wishing them a safe trip.

As a token of appreciation, the council had also written Po and the Five a letter to Master Shifu explaining how all the trouble they caused was ultimately for the greater good, so his pupils would be slightly less dead when they returned to the Jade Palace and told him all about their trip.

The Valley warriors looked towards Zhong Yu and his packmates. The head lupine raised his paw to his forehead and saluted his former foes. The thirty wolves backing him up had no qualms about doing the same. They all owed the masters just as much as he did.

Po, smiling, saluted the alpha dog back, and his friends (despite not being soldiers) followed suit. After all, everyone had different ways of showing respect.

The chubby bear stepped up to the heavy-weight canine. "Never forget you have a drive now Zhong. You've got a lot of people counting on you again, and if you let them down again I'll personally come back here and kick your butt from one side of China to the other", Po warned him, though they both knew it wasn't a real threat.

Zhong snorted. "Not likely", he replied, unworried. But he really did take the bear's advice to heart.

"Remember this too. You're good, but you're not invincible. You've already died twice, so be smart and don't push your luck", the panda cautioned.

Again, Zhong was untroubled. "You can relax panda. Believe me, after thirty years at war I _really_ don't mind a little peacetime", he assured him, with a big grin on his face.

And Po believed him.

The wild dog's girlfriend joined in the conversation. "Make sure you stop by and visit us again someday. We'll probably get a chance to visit you", she informed the masters.

"You know, the folks back home won't be too keen to welcome the same guys who robbed them", Po joked to Zhong and his men.

"That's alright. I've still got a lot of atoning to do, and I look forward to fixing a few bridges in the Valley of Peace as well", the one-eyed canine replied. "I love a challenge", he added eagerly.

That grin stuck tightly to his face must have been contagious, cause now Shu had one as well. While the Furious Five shook paws with Zhong's packmates, the she-wolf leaned forward and kissed Po on the cheek, making the panda blush. He gave her a big squeeze in return.

He did the same to her boyfriend but Zhong didn't really mind, because again, the panda felt like a giant pillow. All plush-cuddly soft.

The farewells could have easily gone on forever (what with there being so many people to say good-bye to), but Po and his pals couldn't afford to procrastinate or let themselves get distracted. They had a boat to catch. So they walked away; and once they were far enough away the palace doors swung closed behind them.

The two groups went their separate ways – the Wolf Boss and his men guarding Gongmen City once more, while the Dragon Warrior and his friends resumed their roles as protectors of China. Po the panda could finally go home with peace of mind and soul; knowing his job was at last done and Gongmen City was once again home of the wolves.

"**_Doctor Who: Series Four Closing Credits_**" by Murray Gold begins.

The End.

**_Author's Notes:_**

And that's the end of it. I've haven't been this happy to plant those words on a story since "**_Erdan 2_**" (the story that took eight months to write). One of the cons of being a writer is having conflicted feelings all the time. You enjoy coming up with the ideas for stories, but after actually writing them for a few months all you want is for them to be done and over with already.

At one point, around the middle of this fic when I thought I'd never get it finished, my frustrated thoughts reminded me a lot of Green Goblin shouting 'Finish it! Finish it!' in "**_Spider-Man_**" (2002). And of course when the story actually is done, then your aggravation is replaced by pride. If a story is an author's baby, then authors are definitely like pregnant women – constantly going through mood swings.

Anyway, all of you should check out the acknowledgments chapter. It's the real last chapter in this story, and a thank-you letter to all my great, supportive friends.


	18. Chapter 18: Acknowledgments

**_Chapter 18: Acknowledgments and Afterthoughts._**

**_Afterthoughts:_**

From initial conception to the final revision, "**_Lazarus_**" took over a year and a half for me to satisfactorily complete. And now that I look over the last seventeen chapters I worked so hard to finish, I know it was all completely worth it. "**_Lazarus_**" is no longer just an idea in my head but a story I've finally got to share with all of you, and I hoped you all enjoyed reading it. Cause if you didn't, I busted my butt this summer for nothing.

I started writing the first chapter in April and finished the last one in August. In some ways the writing process was easier than previous ones because I had the whole plot mapped ahead of time, chapter by chapter. In other ways it was harder. There were so many different characters this time around, and each one had their own storyline that converges midway through (including Po and Zhong, who parallel each other since they're both leaders doubting themselves). There's more action as well. Sometimes it felt like I was writing a superhero movie, the kind the balances drama with fight scenes (in chapters 12 and 13 especially).

Now that I'm done with this I'm free to move on to my other, less time consuming projects; but I'm looking forward to reading whatever reviews you've posted or will post for this fic. Your opinions (positive or negative) mean an awful lot to me, and that's why I want to thank all the guys and girls whose feedback and advice helped me improve me as a writer and bring this fic to life.

But first, like always, I want to list my favorite music from this story. Scruff the Rat and all the rest of you guys, I hope you're all still reading this because I want to know what some of your favorites were as well.

**_Top 10 Tracks:_**

* **_Full Moon_** – Three are three reasons I included this song in "**_Lazarus_**". (1) It's a great traveling song. (2) The title alone is appropriate for a wolf-related story. And (3) The Black Ghosts' vocals sound a lot like wolves howling (the same with "**_Flightless Bird, American Mouth_**" later). It's very catchy, though I didn't quite understand the lyrics the first time I heard it.

* **_The Doctor's Theme_** – When I first chose "**_The Doctor's Theme_**" to represent Wolf Boss, I wondered if I made the right choice (it's not exactly action-packed, considering it's supposed to represent a badass like the wolf commander). Now I'm glad I stuck by my decision. This is the kind of song that never gets old (thanks to Melanie Pappenheim's catchy vocals).

In contrast to all the rock beats used during action scenes, Zhong's personal theme symbolizes his deeper side; variations of it usually appear when he's being thoughtful, or when he's dying (something that happens quite a lot to the poor pooch).

* **_Amy's Theme _**– Similar to how "**_The Mad Man With A Box_**" served as Zhong's secondary theme in "**_Erdan 2_**", this melody followed him around like his shadow as he befriended both Po and Shu in "**_Lazarus_**". Like most of the beats for the Doctor's companions, "**_Amy's Theme_**" was all about growing and changing while experiencing new places and things. And since a lot of this fic was about personal growth through self-discovery, Amelia Pond's string and piano motif seemed like the clear choice to represent the journey both Po and Zhong go on to enlightenment (through good times and bad).

* **_This Is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home_** – '_The skies are burnt orange, with a citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that the mountains go on forever, slopes of deep red grass capped with snow_' – The Doctor (**_Gridlock_**).

Gallifrey, home of the Doctor and planet of the time lords. Or at least it used to be. When you've lost everything from your previous life and all that's left is memories, the yearning and nostalgia for the old days can sometimes be overwhelming. The Doctor is at times a broken man, as well as the one-eyed Wolf Boss of Gongmen City. The main beat comes from the plucking of an acoustic guitar, which sounds an awful lot like a clock ticking – a fitting motif for a race called the time lords. Just like "**_Vale Decem_**" and "**_I Am The Doctor_**", many Whovians consider this track to be one of Murray's greatest hits.

* **_Supermassive Black Hole_** – Baseball playing vampires; Bugs Bunny eat your heart out. Since I came up with the idea for this fic around the same time as "**_Erdan 2: A Father's Love_**", both stories have songs from the Twilight saga woven into them; this was one of them. Muse rocked, synthesizers blared, and our heroes kicked smuggler butt. The Furious Five didn't have an instrumental motif, but I do consider this their theme song.

* **_The Life and Death of Amy Pond_** - "**_Amy's Theme_**" returns for Wolf Boss' second death scene, in a fully orchestral and tear-jerking form. While "**_Amy's Theme_**" was all about traveling and seeing the universe, "**_The Life and Death of Amy Pond_**" is a reminder that nothing lasts forever, and all good things must come to an end eventually. Like how Amy's travels with the Doctor came to end so too does Zhong's soul-searching journey with Po (well, it's not really the end for Zhong; this is an 'Everybody Lives' type of story after all).

* **_The Doctor's Theme: Series Four_** – I use music a lot in my stories; it's actually rare for me to not include any, even if it's just a one-shot. Needless to say there are certain songs that remind me of certain scenes; songs that every time I listen to them I remember writing pivotal scenes.

"**_A Lonely Decision_**" will always remind of Balto popping the question to Jenna, "**_All the Strange, Strange Creatures_**" of the half-breed rescuing the husky, and "**_The Source_**" of the time Zhong and Erdan hugged out their problems. In my head, "**_The Doctor's Theme_**" has been attached to the character of Wolf Boss for a long time now, but the choral version of it will always remind me of Po's selfless sacrifice for the sake of his best frenemy.

"**_The Doctor's Theme: Series Four_**" is magnificent; it's one of those songs that pulls you into it the moment it starts. From the choir's haunting vocals at the beginning, to the soaring climax at the end, it's orchestra music at its best – easily my favorite of Gold's compositions so far (with "**_The Majestic Tale (Of A Madman In a Box)_**" a very close second).

* **_Flightless Bird, American Mouth_** –Iron & Wine (along with certain wild dogs) crooned, Zhong and Shu danced, and the keys on my keyboard clacked frantically as I typed up one my most shamelessly sentimental scenes yet, to one of my favorite songs from the Twilight saga.

* **_Boe_** – The Face of Boe's (a recurring Yoda-like character) theme is one of the most recognizable pieces of music from the RTD era of Doctor Who; no doubt because fans started looking at the Face in a brand new way after his true identity was revealed. Like the man himself, "**_Boe_**" is unforgettable; telling the story of a wise old guy who has lived for so long and seen so many impossible things that even the Doctor is in awe of him.

After the roller coaster ride of emotions that had dominated most of "**_Lazarus_**", it was a relief to write a mellow scene, and have a mellow, contemplative song like "**_Boe_**" to go along with it.

* **_Man in Mirror_** – Last song of the line-up. One of Michael Jackson's best, and considered a masterpiece by many of his fans. There was really no question of whether or not to include the King of Pop's soulful ballad in this fic, I only had to choose when to use it. Like "**_The Doctor's Theme: Series Four_**", if you're not moved at least a little bit by it, then you have a heart made of stone (or you're just not the pop type, which is pretty likely).

Naturally, the selection was hard to make, since I loved pretty much every piece of music included in this fic. Some great songs that didn't quite make the line-up include "**_Smooth Criminal_**" (another of MJ's classic funk tunes), "**_The Vampires of Venice_**" (the one about vampires whose teeth are _way_ too big), and "**_The Doctor Forever_**" (David Tennant's theme, that rounded off many of his episodes, this fanfic, and the first fanfic I ever wrote back in 2011).

**_Acknowledgments:_**

* **_Wolflover111_** – I probably never would have started writing Kung Fu Panda fics, and never broke that really bad case of writer's block, if I hadn't read "**_Erdan_**". I owe you so much man, and I want to you know that even though I always acknowledge you at the end of my KFP fics, I would much rather show my gratitude by shaking your hand in person if I could. Handshakes are a sign of respect after all.

* **_Joe 'Po' Navark_** – I'm running out of things to say in these acknowledgments without repeating myself, but if anything that's a good thing – it means I acknowledge you a lot. We've been friends for over a year now. I've reviewed your stories, you've reviewed mine, we've given each other plenty of advice, and I'd like to think we've both made each other's weekends a little more interesting. Thanks for everything Cameron.

* **_Animation Universe 2005_** – AniUniverse, you were one of the reviewers for "**_Erdan 2_**", and a pretty frequent one too. Like Wolflover111 your stories inspired me, and I want you to know my friend that you're not just a good writer, but a pretty good guy too. I try not to take your reviews for granted, because I've got a pretty good idea how awkward it must be for a straight guy to read a slash fic, but you've read all kinds of fics I've written. I know it's been a long time since I've published anything, so I hope this story was worth the wait.

* **_Scruff the Rat_** – You were the first guy (or girl, I'm not sure on your gender. I thought it'd be rude to ask, haha) to comment on the music in "**_Erdan 2_**". You told me you that you liked "**_The Source_**", but you thought "**_Father and Son_**" would have better fit the moment. And I immediately thought I like this guy (or girl). Not only was someone paying attention to the musical choices, but they were making suggestions. Reviews like that make it all worthwhile. And you had plenty more things to say, not just about Erdan but other projects I'd write afterwards. I never know what to expect when I receive a review from you, but I always walk away smiling.

* **_Golden-Earth-Writer (formerly TheDrawerProductions) _**– Funnily enough when I first met you I thought you were trying to plagiarize me and Wolflover111. Then I actually read your fic and I was jealous of you for being such a good writer. Then I talked to you and found out I really liked you (the acknowledgment didn't hurt either). Like Joe and Scruff, your reviews pointed out a lot of things I needed to work on; things that have helped me improve as a writer. And your story, "**_My Father's Past Echoes_**", was a hell of a good fanfic. The site needs more writers like you Luke.

* **_Hidden Stranger_** – Last, but certainly not least, I'd like to thank Hidden Stranger for writing his fic "**_Strength in Unity_**", one of my biggest influences when it comes to writing the character of Wolf Boss (I find Kirscher is somehow a funny wisecracker, an intimidating badass, a contemplative old general, and a guy who you strangely want to hug - all at the same time). I'm always perfectly willingly to wait for the next update because I know that no matter how long it takes for you to write something, it'll be amazing. Even though you've probably gotten this from tons of people by now, I just wanna say Kirscher and the wolves rule.

Well that's all folks. This is the Cool Kat signing off and wishing you all a good day/night.


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